


Don't Speak Their Names

by ayma_nidiot, Patamon (ayma_nidiot)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, M/M, Mpreg, Shrimpshipping is the main ship while Polarshipping and Symbioshipping are secondary, lots of Coastershipping and Tuftshipping and Redeyeshipping bromance, there are three explicit chapters: 1 and 4 and 33, there will be lightly implied Pride as well but it will be later and I'll warn when it happens, there will be occasional sex talk as well, warfare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 65,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29339529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayma_nidiot/pseuds/ayma_nidiot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayma_nidiot/pseuds/Patamon
Summary: Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, with their newly awakened shapeshifting powers, jump at the chance to become top duelists once again. Not if a beautiful and cunning duelist by the name of Amber can help it! To Rex’s misfortune, Amber catches him in an embarrassing position at school. But this won’t be the last time he gets hot and bothered at school, and a suggestion from a former rival puts Rex in a rather… compromising position. And with Seto Kaiba and Atem no longer residing in Domino City, it is up to the “Dweeb Patrol” - led by Rex and Weevil - to save the city from a new horde of monsters. With this heavy weight on their shoulders, the former finalists of regionals also rebuild bridges with former enemies and reconnect with long-lost family - all while being excited at the prospect of parenthood.
Relationships: Dinosaur Ryuuzaki | Rex Raptor/Insector Haga | Weevil Underwood, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Kajiki Ryouta | Mako Tsunami/Esper Roba





	1. Oohs and Aahs

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my mostly-Prideshipping fanfic “In the White Light,” which also features Shrimpshipping in the last few chapters. However, there will only be very minor implied Prideshipping in this fic. 
> 
> Though “Don’t Speak Their Names” will feature a few elements from “In the White Light,” it is not 100% necessary to read “In the White Light” first. However, this fic will allude to that one on a few occasions. Just know that Atem and Kaiba are in ancient Egypt. Kaiba is the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Weevil is Earthbound Immortal (or God) Uru, and Rex is Creepy Coney. Any references to "the old war" or "the war from two years ago" allude to an ancient Egyptian war against Zorc, of which Rex and Weevil were a part. That is also where they discovered their shapeshifting abilities.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is welcome!

Chapter 1 - “Oohs” and “Aahs” 

~29 December 2004~

In a bid to regain his former glory, Weevil Underwood had organized a birthday tournament for Rex Raptor at their new school, Domino High School. And with his semifinal win against the tough _new girl_ that everyone seemed to be talking about these days, Weevil took that full-of-it attitude with him into this new finals match. He thought squishing his boyfriend and rubbing it in on his own birthday would be a great stepping stone into giving his former foes a piece of his mind.

But alas, it was not to be, and Weevil's plans backfired in the most embarrassing way.

“And _that_ is what I call sweet, sweet revenge.” Rex Raptor propped his legs on the dueling table in a moment of pride.

“Nah. That’s what I call sheer, dumb luck.” Weevil ignored the cheers that resounded throughout Domino High School’s rooftop.

After scooping up his deck, Rex gave the bug duelist a smirk right in his face. “And on my birthday, no less! Here's some advice from an actual pro - quit thinking so much, and just barrel through your foes!”

“Okay, okay.” Weevil threw up his hands in defeat. “But insects are still the best. You Jurassic jerk.”

“Those insects _were_ quite the pest problem. But I took care of them…” Rex leaned in closer to Weevil’s ear and whispered, “just like I’m going to do to _you_ tonight.”

Before Weevil could slap Rex for saying something so vulgar at school, their club sponsor spoke as he entered the scene. “Speaking of problems, there will _be_ a problem if you don’t get to class! First period starts in six minutes!”

“Pfft…” a girl snickered on everyone’s way to class.

“Oh, you're that 'new girl.'" Yeah, the one that lost to yours truly during the tournament. What’s so funny?” Weevil didn’t like the way the girl stared at him with her amber eyes.

“Man, oh man…” spoke Chungus, one of Weevil’s buddies from the tabletop gaming club, which had hosted Rex’s birthday tournament. “That’s the last person you want laughing at _you_ , Underwood.”

“Why, what’s so special about her?” Rex asked as everyone took their seats. 

“You don’t know?” another friend, Suzuki, chimed in. “She’s known around this school as a man-eater. Plus, I’ve heard she’s a sneaky - but awesome - duelist.”

"So sneaky that I've not heard of her before the tournament?" Weevil narrowed his eyes at the girl. He couldn't imagine how such a flirtatious individual could keep up her grades. That kind of behaviour was too uncouth for his liking.

“And wouldn’t I know it,” sighed Espa Roba, who had since moved to Domino City. “She beat me - me, the psychic duelist! - handily during that birthday tournament.”

“So, Mr. Psychic Duelist, what’s her name?”

“Uh…” Espa stared into space. “She was so beautiful that I never thought to ask.”

“And I suppose you bozos never thought to ask either?” Rex got no response to that except for a few dopey chuckles.

“Well, it looks like the sunrise with legs just walked in.” Chungus whistled as a girl with long, raven-black hair returned to the classroom. “Raptor, why don’t you go talk to her?”

“Wh-What? Me?!” Rex pulled Weevil out of his seat. “No way! Make _him_ do it!”

“ _You’re_ the one who won the tournament, dino brain!”

It didn’t take long for the raven-haired girl to notice this lover’s quarrel. “A dino brain you are, indeed!” she laughed, completely nonplussed. “Not only to suffer such a humiliating defeat at regionals, but also to have the lowest grades of anyone in this class!”

As the girl laughed all the way to her seat, Suzuki whispered to Rex, “Um… I guess that’s her way of saying, ‘You’re out of my league’?”

 _No kidding!_ Though Rex and Weevil had been in a relationship for nearly a year now, the dino duelist didn’t feel comfortable letting his friends know about it. He wasn't about to start rebuilding his duelist reputation, only for it to be drowned out by a bunch of jocks.

“She even knows about your oh-so-gracious loss at regionals!” Chungus chuckled. “Man, talk about-”

“WILL YOU STOP TALKING ALREADY?!” Rex nearly toppled his desk over as he sharply arose.

“I agree, Mr. Raptor,” spoke their homeroom science teacher. “Thank you for pretending to be the teacher, if only for three seconds. You may take a seat now.”

 _I’ll get you yet, you piece of shit…_ Rex glared back at the girl, who continued to giggle with her clique.

Rex had hoped that the teasing would stop in this period. To his misfortune, this girl not only teased him at every turn, but got away with doing it. He reckoned that it was because she had the best grades out of all the seniors and got to skip two years - or so she and her teachers claimed. Very few things annoyed Rex more than smartasses doing whatever they damn well pleased (unless said smartass was Weevil).

Rex would not have to deal with this smartass for the last period of the day - gym class - as this class had two teachers who normally taught the boys and girls separately. But he did not enjoy the annoying “oohs” and “aahs” he got from his male classmates. Luckily, the gym teacher not only didn’t know the raven-haired girl, but thanks to his athletic abilities, Rex was on his good side.

“There’s a time and a place for teasing each other, boys.” The gym teacher paused before the boys were to jump the vault. “It’s called after school. You’re not in college _yet._ ”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chungus as Rex prepared himself for his turn, and promptly took off. 

“I suppose he's well-named,” Suzuki remarked. “The kid runs like a velociraptor. His face looks like one, too.”

Weevil, however, could tell something was awry from the look on his boyfriend’s face. Not in a single time in gym class - or any time, for that matter - had Rex been so red or sweaty. “Hold on, fartknocker. I know Rex better than any of you, and I can assure you he is normally not that exhausted.”

The gym teacher was the only other one to notice. “Mr. Raptor, go to the nurse,” he ordered immediately.

“No, Teach, I’m fine,” Rex insisted, but the gym teacher wouldn’t accept that answer.

“I mean it, Mr. Raptor. You’re having heat exhaustion,” the gym teacher spoke as he wrote Rex a clinic pass. “Go, now, before it develops into full-on heat stroke.”

This was the one teacher Rex really liked, and he knew better than to argue with him. Without looking at his teacher’s face, he took the pass and sauntered into the hallway leading to the clinic. He didn’t make it far, though, as even after stopping for some water, he felt even hotter still… in ways he didn’t want to at school. He thanked the gods that nobody in the hallway could see him in such a state.

“Why…” Rex wiped his forehead after making his way for the loo. “Argh, why do I have to have a boner in the middle of class? And… and… What the fuck?!”

Rex didn’t expect to see his rabbit ears, paws, and tail come out - after all, he only recently discovered his ability to change into the Creepy Coney. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t retract his animal features. Unless… “There’s only one way I can make my bunny ears go away, huh…”

Rex took one final look around the hall, and locked himself in one of the stalls. Even though the loo was air conditioned well enough, his body still felt hot as he let his pants fall to his knees.

 _Gods…_ Rex felt paranoid at first, but as he caressed his own cock, any noise in that hallway - save for his own whimpering - proved insignificant. He had wanted for Weevil to join him in there, but of course the aspiring valedictorian had to jump the vault instead. _Still… This isn’t so bad…_

Rex had an experience with touching himself that he was unusually proud of, so it took him no time at all to reach a satisfying climax - and an especially loud moan. As he pulled his pants back up and exited the stall, he showed no shame - that was, until he heard a feminine chuckle from just outside the loo entrance. “Sounds like you had quite a bit of fun in there.”

“It’s…!” Rex easily recognized the raven-haired girl. “It’s none of your business!”

“Oh, I think after seeing you practically turn into a rabbit and hearing you masturbate in the bathroom, it is very much my business.”

“Shh!” Rex rushed up to the girl and covered her mouth. “Okay, what do you want me to do so you don’t tell everyone what happened in there?”

“Shouldn’t you ask a lady what her name is before you ask her for favours?”

“But… But…” Rex stuttered.

“The name’s Amber, by the way. And if you’re wondering what I’d like from you… Just let me follow you around whenever I’d like.”

“That’s, um… Odd. You _do_ know I have a boyfriend, right?” Rex let it slip without thinking.

“I’ve known for quite some time,” Amber replied nonchalantly. “Or have you not heard of my sneaky reputation?”

Rex wanted to hit Amber for speaking that way to him, but he knew better. “...So you just want to follow me? Even on the way home?”

“Now that you mention it, yes.” Amber smirked when the bell to end the school day rang. “And remember, if you don't do as I say... Well, there's an iota of a chance I'll splurge your embarrassing secret to the teachers - whom I'm friends with, mind you - thereby dashing your hopes of graduating."

 _What's this chick's deal?!_ Even though he had just met this girl 'properly' for the first time, Rex decided he didn't like her. He swore to himself he'd talk with Weevil later on how to get her to leave him alone.

"And I'd like to leave right now, if you don’t mind."

 _Oh, you bet I do,_ Rex thought as several jealous boys glared at him. _You bet I do._

  
  



	2. Heart-to-Heart

Chapter 2 - Heart-to-Heart

Author’s Note: Some implied Peachshipping

“So… Let me get this straight.” Weevil had to bring the small party to a half after Rex recalled everything…  _ interesting _ that happened during gym class. “Not only did you get this girl’s name, but you got her to follow you around? Am I not good enough for you?”

“I’m sorry, Weeves…” Rex sputtered as he tried to apologize. “I tried to hide our relationship… But this girl-”

“It’s Amber,” the raven-haired girl emphasized.

“I thought I had hidden it so well,” Weevil snarled. “You must be clever to out-clever me.”

“I’m clever enough to be valedictorian at the moment,” Amber replied cooly.

_ So,  _ this _ is the one keeping me at the salutatorian spot?  _ Weevil took this insult to his intelligence personally. “I dare you to say that again?!”

Rex and Weevil spent so much time quarreling with Amber that they hardly noticed the gaggle of former rivals that they crashed into. “Ow! Walk much?” they exclaimed in unison.

“Ey, I should say the same to you,” spoke a strong Brooklyn accent. “...No way.”

“...” Rex couldn’t look at the now-infamous duelist he crashed into - Joey Wheeler - and his “Dweeb Patrol,” as Seto Kaiba had so kindly put it. The last time he met them face-to-face was at the KaibaCorp Halloween tournament last year that Joey had won. Or more specifically, the haunted house event held right afterwards, and the shapeshifting-related pranks he played that sent the “Dweeb Patrol” packing.

“Well, if it isn’t Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood.” Téa Gardner squirmed at the sight of Weevil, remembering well the joking passes he made at her in the past.

Yugi Mutou, the “King of Games,” was naturally too softhearted to recall what Rex and Weevil had done. “How have you guys been?”

“...Good enough, thanks.” Rex didn’t expect Yugi to take such a kind tone with him.

“You know these guys?” Amber whispered.

“Whoa!” Tristan Taylor was the first of the “Dweeb Patrol” to notice Amber. “Who’s this hot lady?”

“Urk…” Apparently not enjoying this sudden attention, rather than replying, Amber took off and hid behind the nearest tree.

“Nice going, you meathead,” Duke Devlin scolded. “First Serenity, now  _ that _ girl… Do you  _ really _ have to greet all women that way?”

“Like you’re the one to talk,” Tristan huffed.

“Erm…” Weevil didn’t like the vibe that Tristan’s poor word choice created. But being the big introvert that he was, he regretted not letting Rex break the tension instead. “Uh… Nice to see you all, I guess?”

Rex, however, noticed that even in their college days, Joey et. al still carried their Duel Disks around - and jumped at the chance. “Weeves, this is it! You’ve always wanted to get revenge on Yugi, right?”

“After fighting in a great war in ancient Egypt and getting my own redemption arc, I’m not feeling revenge right now.” Or so Weevil said, but after his defeat at the birthday tournament, he had to find an outlet. “Buuuut I’m in the mood for a totally friendly, no-anger-whatseover duel.”

“After what ‘Mr. Meathead’ over there said, I suppose I could spare you a duel.” Joey ignored Tristan’s funny look as he asked, “Yug, you up for it?”

“Have I ever turned down a duel?” Yugi stepped forward and put his deck in his Duel Disk.

“A wise decision.” Rex activated his Duel Disk in time with Weevil. “Finally, I can not only duel the King of Games, but I can also beat  _ you _ , Joey. Wait until you see my Red-Eyes/dinosaur deck firsthand!”

“Heh, heh, heh…” Joey had lost the coin toss, and Weevil had the first move. Still, his confidence didn’t waver. “Wait until you see  _ my _ deck! It’s so good, I don’t need no coin toss to win it!”

“Yeah, dream on, dude. Anyone who’s seen you duel - and that means just about anyone in Domino City - knows you rely on luck and probably  _ did  _ need that coin toss!” Weevil did his signature laugh. “I set a card and a monster face-down. That is all for now.”

“Hahaha…” Joey drew Red-Eyes Fusion. “No matter what that set card is, it couldn’t possibly stand up to  _ this! _ Behold, Red-Eyes Fusion!”

_ Of _ course _ he has one too! _ Rex couldn’t believe that as always, Joey got very lucky on his draws. He shot a glare at his boyfriend, as if to say, “You jinxed it, bug boy!”

“Um, I’m pretty sure it can!” Weevil flipped over his set card, Magic Jammer. “I discard a card to negate your Spell Card! And since I chose Skull-Mark Ladybug, I regain 1000 Life Points!”

“Who’s the lucky one  _ now? _ ” Rex beamed at this clever move from his boyfriend.

“You know darn well Yug and I will be.” Joey turned to his dueling partner, who drew Magicalized Fusion on his first turn. But as the duel drew on - for only another three turns per player - the New-York-born duelist gaped. Weevil could Special Summon out the wazoo using cards like Pinch Hopper, Howling Insect, and of course the egg-laying Metamorphosed Insect Queen. And Rex’s cards had such ridiculously strong effects that made Joey wish there was a KC-sanctioned banlist. He couldn’t believe that for once, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood had the upper hand against  _ him _ \- and he really felt he could lose this time!

“I…” Joey, with Yugi, knelt to the asphalt after Rex’s Ultimate Conductor Tyranno attacked him directly. “I can’t believe I let a shrimp half my size defeat me!”

“Correction,  _ two _ shrimps half your size just defeated you.” Weevil snickered.

“I suppose congratulations are in order, then.” Yugi got up. “It’s only a matter of time before you give all those naysayers what for.”

“Wait, something’s not right…” Tristan spoke up abruptly. “Where’s Téa?”

Yugi sighed as he noticed his crush waiting in line at an ice cream shop parlor. “I should have known. I suppose the rest of us might as well get some.” Yugi turned to Rex and Weevil. “And I suppose we could treat our winners.”

“Th-Thanks again, I guess.” Like Rex, Weevil wasn’t used to fraternizing with the people who were technically responsible for his fall from grace. Thankfully, he was the first of the “party” to receive his ice cream, and sat across from Téa at the table she saved.  _ What a time to be an introvert… _ He could hardly stand to look at her - or at any of the other “friends” that joined them. Other than Téa, nobody there had done anything but scorn and make a fool out of him.

“So I guess that hot chick won’t be joining us?” Tristan wondered aloud.

“First of all, her name’s Amber,” Rex replied. “Secondly, I’m pretty sure she’s a couple of years younger than you.”

“Y-Yeah…” Joey tried to break up the bad start to the conversation. “So who is she, exactly? And how did she start following you?”

Rex glanced around to make sure nobody from school could hear before continuing, “She wanted to follow me everywhere, in exchange for not telling everyone about something embarrassing I did at school.”

“Touching yourself at school isn’t something to be ashamed of, Rexy. Hell, I’ve done it plenty of times.”

Weevil instinctively flung a wad of used tissue at Joey for daring to publicly say such a thing. He couldn’t say whether he was the most pissed at Joey for calling his boyfriend a pet name, for talking about sexuality as if it were the weather, or that he automatically knew what Rex was talking about. “I beg your pardon?”

“I read somewhere that at least 60% of high school boys have touched themselves at school,” Téa quipped.

_ Bookworm… _ Rex thought. “Hey, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t uncontrollably half-shift during class. I… I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I just turned 18.”

“Could be,” Joey pondered. “It’s a shame that Mai Valentine isn’t with us today.”

“Oh? Why is that?” Rex winced at the mention of that name, flashing back to the unfun times at Duelist Kingdom.

“She’s now in college, studying to become a sex therapist,” replied Joey. “Of course, she hasn’t stopped dueling. At any rate, I should invite her the next time I want to go to town. She could lend you some expertise.”

“You sure you don’t just want an excuse to ask her out?” Tristan nudged. 

“Wh-Whatever are you talking about?”

“Come on, anyone with half a brain that saw you two at Battle City would know that the two of you have the hots for each other,” Duke joined in.

Rex couldn’t believe he was about to chime in, too. “Or anyone who saw you nearly kill yourself trying to save her from the Orichalcos.”

Joey didn’t like being put on the spot like this, and got up from his seat to aggressively throw his ice cream wrapper in the rubbish can, then left without another wod.

“I kind of feel bad for him,” Téa frowned while everyone else threw away their rubbish as well. “I’m sure he thinks the world of her, but for one reason or another, is too shy to tell her.”

_ Believe me, I know the feeling… _ Yugi sadly nodded.

“That’s kind of how I was with Weevil.” Rex proudly held Weevil’s hand. “And now look where we are.”

“Hopefully he’ll get the courage to tell her soon,” Weevil added.

“Thank you.” Yugi smiled. “You know, it’s hard to believe how you guys were enemies of the pharaoh until recently. I’m glad we could have this heart-to-heart today to help patch things up.”

“Thanks…” Rex waved an awkward hand as they parted ways. “Same to you, buddy.”


	3. Something To Be Proud Of

Chapter 3 - Something to Be Proud Of

~29 January 2005~

_ Son of a… _ Rex hated math class. He didn’t see the point of listening to some windbag drone on and on about integrals or whatever the hell he was talking about. He now used the old “mechanical-pencil-under-the-chin” trick to try and stay awake. Not that his boyfriend needed to, as Weevil was a very meticulous note-taker. And all the while, Espa used his alleged ESP to magicall absorb the information… or whatever.

“So, Mr. Raptor, I take it you know the answer to this question?” Not even this stern voice could wake Rex up. He spoke louder, “Mr. Raptor!”

Rex fully woke up, all right - but it wasn’t because of the math teacher’s voice. No, it was because he began to feel hot again… except this time, he wasn’t in gym class. Without thinking, he shot up from his seat and shouted, “Bathroom!”

“No, Mr. Raptor, the answer to ∫4x^6−2x^3+7x−4dx isn’t ‘bathroom.’” The teacher nearly facepalmed as the students bust out in laughter.

“But Teach, I really need to go!” Rex insisted.

“Fine…” The teacher sighed as he handed the class hall pass to Rex. “But be quick.”

“Th-Thank you, sir!” Rex sprinted for the loo as his namesake might. “Not… again…” Rex had just remembered that it was almost exactly a month after his 18th birthday. He

came to the conclusion that like an animal, he would be going into heat every month, thanks to his newfound adulthood. “So, I’m going to have to get used to this every month, huh…”

“That’s totally fine by me,” a voice snuck upon Rex.

“Aaah!” Rex turned around to see Weevil standing there. “Sweet Horus, Weeves. ...Wait, what are you doing here?”

“‘Using the bathroom.’ What else?” Weevil winked, giving one of Rex’s ass cheeks a good squeeze.

“You sneaky son of a…” Rex pulled Weevil in for a kiss, and stared at him with their noses touching. “You didn’t even ask for a hall pass, did you?”

“Does Weevil Underwood, the salutatorian of Domino High, ever need to ask for such trivial things?” Weevil leaned against the rail of the loo stall, exposing his bare ass to Rex. And just like before, Rex disregarded passing noises - but now, in favour of his boyfriend.

And just like before, Amber happened to be walking past, and her ears perked up when she heard two voices come out of the loo. “Is… Is that-”

Amber glanced to the booming clock tower in the middle of the school.  _ Sh-Shit! _ She didn’t like how Rex and Weevil appeared to be blissfully unaware of the fact that the school was now on lunch break, and soon, boys would flood into the loo. “Guys…?” Amber got as close as she could to the loo entrance.

Rex didn’t show the least bit of concern as he exited the loo holding Weevil’s hand. “You rang?”

“You’re done in there, I take it?”

No sooner had Amber asked this question, when Rex’s and Weevil’s mutual friends decided to make a pit stop. “Done with what?” asked one friend.

“Nunya.” Amber flared up. “As in ‘Nunya Business.’”

“Quite defensive, aren’t we, pretty lady?” Chungus whistled. “Ah! Could it be because… You… So  _ that’s _ why you and Raptor asked to leave class at the same time!”

“What?! That’s preposterous!” Amber snarled. “Get that disgusting idea out of your head!”

As his “friends” teased Amber, Rex took note of how uncomfortable she looked. Despite how she manipulated him, and despite how he could potentially damage his reputation, Rex flared up at the prospect of a girl being treated this way by jocks. He decided to stick up for Amber. “Hey.”

“Yeah, we all know how proud you are, Raptor!” the bold “friend” continued.

“Why should I be proud of putting a girl in such an uncomfortable position?” As Rex spoke, the “friends” visibly shrunk. “Just because she’s your ‘man-killer…’ or whatever doesn’t give you the right to treat this girl like she’s just some object to be admired by guys! The only thing I’m proud of is having the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for, Weevil Underwood.”

“Uh… What?”

“You heard him.” Weevil now didn’t feel ashamed either.

“Pfft!” Suzuki, along with some of the other friends, chuckled in chorus. “I knew it! I mean, the look in your eyes after you lost to Underwood at regionals? That was the look of a heartbroken man.”

“Then why?”

“Oh, don’t mind Chungus over there.” Suzuki pointed to the “bold friend.” “You two might be the first same-sex couple this bonehead has ever met.”

“Haha…” Amber let a snicker come out. “I can’t believe his name is ‘Chungus.’”

Chungus didn’t mind Amber making fun of his name, not after all he had done. “Amber, hey, look… I’m sorry. How I treated you - especially since I don’t know you well - was uncalled for.”

“You are forgiven.” Amber smiled. “Now, come. We’ve spent so much time talking about this that if we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the special of the day.”


	4. You Don't Have to Say It

Chapter 4 - You Don’t Have to Say It

~07 April 2005~

After coming out to his friends two months ago, Rex noticed that Amber slowly began to open up to all her classmates, not just the ones that thought like her. Granted, she was still as flirtatious as ever, but at least she would talk to pretty girls now without the instinct to duel them. Even with Amber ending the “deal” she made with Rex about following him, Rex didn’t mind letting him into her circle of friends - and neither did the equally smart Weevil. Amber turned out to be not just a sneaky young woman who was very palsy-walsy with her teachers, but she also used her sneakiness to thwart a few bullies. In fact, just the day previous, she swapped a bully’s gym shorts with shorts with stupid patterns and cartoons on them. Rex certainly remembered everyone laughing at the kid in gym class, and the walk of shame the bully had to endure as he had to run the track alone. _Perhaps Weeves can learn a thing or two from her._

Weevil had to go home early for an unspecified reason, and so couldn’t join them on their walk home from school. “So, Amber. We graduate in a little more than two months. Do you have a college picked out yet?”

“Domino City University,” Amber answered without pause. “And I’m on full ride, too.”

“So I see.” Rex gritted his teeth in jealousy; it didn’t help that Weevil had a similar story. Meanwhile, he was barely passing his classes, and knew that any grade below a “C” on any of his finals meant that he wouldn’t be graduating. 

“You know, I could get used to having friends like you and Weevil.” Amber had not forgotten Rex sticking up for her after the incident at the loo two months prior. “And I would really like to duel the two of you. I just might have at club, if I didn’t leave my deck at home like an idiot.”

“You know something _I_ can’t get used to…” Rex spoke up, then brought his voice down. “These heat cycles. I had another one at school this day last month. I just thank the gods that I haven’t had one yet today.”

“...” Amber paused a while before saying, “What about that Yankee friend of yours?”

“What, you mean Joey?” This question caught Rex off-guard, as he didn’t know if he considered Joey a friend yet.

“Yeah, he said something about one ‘Mai Valentine,’ and that she could help you. Why don’t you call them up?”

“Um… I don’t think I’m _that_ chummy with him.”

“Oh, really?” spoke a voice from Rex’s left side. “Then maybe we need to change that.”

“Why.” Rex didn’t even have to look to know that it was Joey who spoke to him. “Why do we have to run into each other so often?”

“Shouldn’t you be glad?” spoke a feminine voice from behind Joey.

“I… don’t know about that.” Rex couldn’t look Mai in the eye. “So, none of your dwe- I mean, _friends_ are here?”

“Y-Yeah.” Joey couldn’t openly admit that he and Mai were on a date. “A-Anyway, about that problem you were having, Rex.” Joey looked to a humble café nearby. “Would you care to go into more detail about it, now that Mai is here?”

Rex hated to admit it, but he didn’t have anyone else to turn to. “Sure.”

Amber stepped forward. “And I’ll be paying for it all.”

“That’s…” Joey started as the four of them got in line at the café. “...awfully kind of you, considering how we spoke to you when we first met.”

As the four sat down, Rex looked up from his coffee mug to see two familiar faces - Mako Tsunami and Espa Roba - come into the café together. _Could they be…?_

Mai interrupted Rex from his small daydream. “So, what seems to be eating you?”

“Oh, okay. So ever since my 18th birthday, I started halfshifting uncontrollably-” Rex had just remembered that he never told Mai about his shapeshifting abilities. “Oh, sorry. I can change into a rabbit. Anyway, every month, I get… like, super horny. And it doesn’t matter where, either. In fact, both last month and the month before, it happened during class. I’m just lucky it didn’t happen this month… yet.”

“I mean, rabbits _are_ known for being in heat just about all of the time.” Mai pondered for a few more seconds, noting that Rex look more embarrassed as she spoke. “But it’s nothing to be ashamed of. However, I got to ask you something… Have you ever tried to let Weevil top you?”

“!!” Spitting out his coffee, Rex remained speechless for a solid minute. “I… I… I can’t say that I have. Normally, _I’m_ the one on top. But now that you mention it, I think I like that idea.”

“...” Joey said nothing during the whole conversation; he only gave Rex a smug look while he drank his coffee. Amber looked just as interested.

“Glad to hear it.” Mai sipped her coffee. “Sometimes couples with problems in their sex life need a change of pace, that’s all.”

“Is… Is that so?” No sooner had Rex finished the last bite of the tea biscuits they shared, when he could feel his rabbit tail coming out. “Then… I’ll be going now!” He turned to Amber. “Thanks for the food.”

“Any time, my dude…” Amber watched him leave. “Any time.”

As soon as he exited the café, Rex bolted as fast as he could for his trailer home, which was only a stone’s throw. _Thank the gods that Mom and Mama are at a friend’s house,_ he thought as he resolved to call Weevil and ask him to come over.

Rex was shocked, then, to learn that he wouldn’t have to - as Weevil was already laying in his bed, reading a giant book about insects.

“Wow, you really held out a long time, didn’t you?” Weevil dog-eared the book and put it on Rex’s nightstand. 

“I-I’ll have you know that it just started 15 minutes ago!” Rex started to regret asking his mother to let Weevil have a key to the house. 

“Sorry, hun…” Weevil kissed Rex, stroking the dinosaur duelist’s face with one hand - and sneaking into his trousers with the other. “Not just for teasing you, but for leaving _this_ unattended for a good 15 minutes.”

As he intensified their kisses, Rex practically pushed Weevil onto his bed. “If you really _are_ sorry, then I want you to do me one favour.”

Weevil looked perplexed as Rex abruptly paused the kissing - and even more so when Rex splayed himself on the bed while lying on his stomach. “Hun?”

“Would you… be the one on top tonight?” 

“What’s gotten into you?”

Rex didn’t like the ambiguous tone of that chuckle. “Dammit. I knew that-”

“No, I’m just… surprised… that’s all.” Weevil didn’t want to admit it, but he was a bit nervous about this new idea. “The thought of being the one to fuck you - as opposed to being the fuckee - just thrills me all the more.”

“Then… You better do a damned good job.” Rex counted his lucky stars that the sun began to set in the quaint trailer park. It took some courage to bare his skin before Weevil. But that slight hesitation melted away instantly with the caresses of the bug duelist’s fingertips on his chest and the lively party music from the other mobile homes. The thought of Weevil pinning him down - as well as the kisses that peppered his chest - made Rex’s heart pound wildly. “Weevil…”

Weevil’s heart fluttered at the sound of Rex calling his name from underneath him, and at the touch of his already-hard cock. He knew that foreplay would be moot at this point, but enjoyed seeing Rex this way too much to stop now. “You… horny rabbit.” The breath from his voice tickled Rex’s nipples. 

“You’re… killing me, Weeves…” Rex’s deep humming blended with the slick sounds of Weevil’s tongue circling his nipples. He couldn’t help but feel impressed at Weevil’s ability to bring him oh-so-close to climax, yet not allow him to get there. Rex felt tempted to touch Weevil in return, but wanted so much for the bug duelist to dominate him tonight, and so he stilled his hand.

As if reading his thoughts, Weevil whispered, “You can touch me, you know. I want to be rock-hard before I make love to you.”

Then, without pause, Rex broke their current position, fingers brushing up and down Weevil’s cock. 

“And I mean _completely_ rock-hard.”

Rex gladly obliged, giving the head a tease before taking the whole shaft in his mouth. He could feel his boyfriend’s cock swell quickly, and thought that Weevil would come right then and there. That was when Weevil grabbed a ball of chestnut hair from Rex’s head and said, “That… hah… is…”

For a spell, Rex had thought he had done something wrong, that was until Weevil reached for the nearby drawer in which Rex kept a bottle of lube. Thanks to his incredibly high sex drive, Rex had expanded about half of the bottle in the span of a mere fortnight. He never imagined that that lube would soon be stuck up _his_ ass, instead of the other way around. Weevil impatiently tore off whatever clothes the two of them had left on while Rex lifted his ass in the air. He twitched with pleasure just hearing Weevil pump his own cock with his lube-saturated hand. “Weeves… I’m… I’m ready.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Weevil started off pushing in little by little, but soon after, he penetrated Rex with one hard thrust.

“Son… of a… _bitch!_ ” Rex cried. Even though Weevil was nowhere near as well-endowed as he, Rex could still feel immense pleasure in every thrust Weevil instilled into him. Yet Rex could sense a hint of worry in Weevil’s whimpering, as if he wasn’t sure if he was pleasing his partner. Rex made damned sure to let Weevil know just how good he felt when he cried in pleasure, “Gods, Weeves, I can’t get enough… of this… Fuck me harder!” 

“R-Rex… Honey…” The bug duelist nipped at his boyfriend’s ear, pushing so hard that Rex felt Weevil’s balls graze against his ass. 

“Weeves.” Rex spoke in a low breath as Weevil paused.

“Turn… around…” Weevil smirked when Rex obeyed him. “I… I want to see… your face… when you come.”

Rex knew in his heart that Weevil wouldn’t be waiting for long, even more now that he could see the bug duelist’s half-shifted form. Still he moaned into the hard kiss that Weevil gave him as he drew ever closer to climax. “Weeves…” Small tears pooled at the corner of Rex’s eyes. “Oh… Oh, gods! Weeves!”

“Rex!” Weevil took only a few seconds more, yelling his boyfriend’s name throughout his strong orgasm. As Rex reached his own climax, Weevil jerked him off, prolonging this exhilarating feeling for as long as they could. As soon as Weevil pulled out, no longer were either of them half-shifted, and Weevil could feel his face beginning to cool. 

“Weeves… Hah…” Rex could barely manage.

Weevil heard the door to the mobile home unlock, and he knew that Rex’s moms had just come back from whatever function they were attending. But they wouldn’t care, and even if they did, _he_ wouldn’t care.

“You don’t have to say it.” Weevil let Rex throw a blanket over the both of them, and not giving a frog’s fat ass about their homework for today, they slowly began to drift off. “You’re beautiful. I know.”


	5. Takoyaki and Ginger

Chapter 5 - Takoyaki and Ginger 

~13 May 2005~

“Ngh…” Rex awoke after yet another sleepover. He wasn’t all too ecstatic that Roach, Weevil’s father, had summoned him home early that morning. _Probably to lecture him about how he needs to “sacrifice for the good of the company,” or whatever,_ Rex reckoned. At any rate, he much preferred his humble way of living compared to the high expectations that came with being the heir to a big-name tech company. Sure, Rex still had the most crummy flip phone and not much a room to speak of (except for how tornado-like it was), but to him, two loving moms more than compensated for it. 

On the other hand, Weevil’s mother had been booted out of the house when the bug duelist was but eight years old. Ever since then, Roach had pushed Weevil to be the best at everything - and, until Yugi et. al. came along, he really felt he _was_ best at everything. And throughout all of his trials and tribulations, Rex was the only one Weevil had let known that he really _didn’t_ enjoy being on top of the world, just to please his demanding father. The dinosaur duelist couldn’t have been prouder to have given Weevil a taste of a true home life over the years, and neither have his moms. 

Besides the obvious fact that he loved his boyfriend spending more time at the mobile home than his own house, one great thing about Weevil staying over was that his moms tended to cook more. Which, of course, brought him to the copious amount of takoyaki that took up at least a quarter of the fridge. And, for that matter, a decent-sized bottle of chocolate syrup that he now unashamedly began to pour over a mountain of takoyaki.

“Wow…” Rex took a bite of the chocolate syrup-takoyaki concoction and decided he liked it very much. “This is the shit, man…”

The dino duelist proceeded to take the next batch of takoyaki from the fridge, and sprinkle _that_ with more syrup. Then the next batch. Rex paid no heed to his flabbergasted mother who caught him indulging in this food, and simply greeted her with a, “Hi, Mom!”

“Oh, don’t you ‘Hi, mom’ me! _¡Dios mio!_ ” Ptera Raptor seized the very last batch of takoyaki from her son, which only had a few pieces left. “I was going to take some of this to my friend’s house today! Do you have any idea how long it took to make all of this?”

“Uh… An hour?”

“Try _five!_ ” Ptera sighed as she started on the mountain of dishes that Rex made. “I mean, I appreciate that you like my cooking, at the least. Just turn all that energy into improving your grades.”

“It’s not that easy, Mom. Even when I try, school is way too hard for me.”

“So…” Ptera turned off the kitchen sink and stared into space. All of a sudden, flashbacks of her life as a paleontologist trainee - complete with her pregnancy - came back to her. “Was all the work I’ve done in the past… for nothing?”

Now Rex truly felt bad for distressing his mother. “...Mom?”

* * *

~19 years ago~

“I don’t need you anymore, Spinos.”

“But… But Ptera!” The young paleontologist ran after the trainee, not caring what the other paleontologists thought. “Please, at least let me help!”

Ptera sharply turned around. “I’m just one of many random trainees that you decided to fuck in the bathroom! You didn’t _actually_ love me! I can raise this child on my own, thank you very much!”

“Is… Is that _really_ what you think of me?”

“There are far worse things that I’d like to call you, but I’d hate to waste my breath on you any longer. Good day, you snake.” Ptera had almost made it to her car before she turned around to say, "Oh, I almost forgot. ¡ _Vete a la mierda, pendejo!_ "

So were Ptera’s last words on her way to her car, with a spit added for good measure. She did not once stop to look back at the archaeological site nor at the man who broke her heart. But she did have to stop in front of a family-owned restaurant to upchuck her lunch into a loo. 

“It’s… It’s okay.” Ptera exited the stall with one hand on her belly and the other on her painful head. “Everything is going to be okay, _cariño_. I’m going to raise you to be a fine adult, unlike that idiot man who-”

“Um…” A young woman with spiky blue hair bumped into Ptera before she could leave the loo. “Are you okay? You have been in there for a good 15 minutes.”

“It’s nothing…” Though Ptera had never seen this woman before, she felt that somehow, she could trust her. “It’s the child.”

“Oh, gosh… Well, the least I could do is treat ya’ to lunch. That is, if you can stomach it.”

“That’s awfully kind of you…” Ptera could feel her appetite return, and gratefully took a seat at the bar.

“Hey, barkeep!” the young woman called. “Get a non-alcoholic ginger tea for this pretty lady!”

“P-Pretty?” As someone who had been overweight since her teen years, Ptera had always been self-conscious about her looks. She had never been called that word before, not even by Spinos.

“I wouldn’t be telling you that if it weren’t true! Anyway, I’m Tricera. How do you do?”

From just hearing the young woman’s name, Ptera lit up. “So, you’re named after a dinosaur, too?”

“‘Too?’”

“I’m Ptera Raptor. Well, pterodactyls aren’t dinosaurs, but ya’ know.”

“This… This is actually the first time I’ve ever met a fellow fan of dinosaurs!”

“I would say ‘touché,’ but…” Ptera fell silent as their drinks arrived.

“But…?” Tricera took a sip of her peach schnapps before stuttering, “I-I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it, then-”

“No, it’s okay.” Ptera drank some of her tea; despite how spicy it was, she quite enjoyed it.

Tricera still felt wary of asking Ptera anything personal. “...So what’s the story with the baby, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It all started when I graduated from college. I had just started my doctoral work on paleontology… Then I met _him._ Spinos. He was the first person I’ve ever met who loved dinosaurs… or _me,_ for that matter.”

“...” Tricera didn’t like the direction this story was heading in, and sipped her schnapps nervously. 

“Or so I thought. One night, we went with some fellow paleontologists to a club. That was when Spinos and I had a one-night stand in the bathroom, as several of our colleagues had a habit of doing… Except two months later, I discovered that somehow, I was the only one of us to get pregnant from such one-night stands.” Ptera slammed a half-full glass on the bar counter, spilling ice everywhere. “But right before I could tell the ‘father,’ I caught the bastard cheating with another one of my colleagues!”

“Oh honey, honey…” Tricera tried to calm the now-crying Ptera down. “Barkeep! Another tea, please!”

Ptera took a thankful sip of the first glass before moving on to the second. “Thank you. I… I thought I loved him… I really did!”

“That’s in the past.” Tricera rubbed Ptera’s back. “You don’t need that dickhead in your life. What matters most is that I help you find a new job.”

“You’d be willing to do that for me?” Ptera stopped crying.

“Heck, it’s easy for me, one of the best employees at this joint!” Tricera swung an arm around Ptera’s shoulders. “Stick with _us_ , and you’ll be raising the finest child this country has ever seen!”

* * *

“And I toiled day and night, dealing with cat callers and entitled rich people, just so I could make enough tips to make you happy. Your mama did, too. Let’s not forget that you wouldn’t have placed second at regionals if we didn’t train you and pay for your cards.”

“M-Mom…” Rex was in a fit of tears by the end of this story. “I’m… so sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry, I want you to work your ass off at school.” Ptera smiled, that was until she realized that something wasn’t quite right with her son. “Rex? You can stop crying now.”

Rex started clutching his stomach and crying even harder. “It hurts…”

“This is why you shouldn’t make the stupid choice of pouring chocolate syrup over your takoyaki… then eating _2 kilos_ of it.” Ptera put leaves of her restaurant’s signature tea in the teapot. “Go rest for the day, _mi hijo._ While you do, think about why you shouldn’t have done that.”

“O-Okay…” So spoke Rex as he returned to his room, where he spent the rest of the day trying to ward off a fit of bloating.

  
  



	6. The Greenhouse

Chapter 6 - The Greenhouse 

“You wanted to see me, Father?” Weevil came in after he was summoned home. He hated just leaving Rex at the mobile home, but feared to ever act against his powerful father who had allies all over Domino City. Weevil knew that if he did anything the evil man didn’t like, he would know about it immediately, and a punishment would ensue - likely consisting of more studying, less sleep, and gods knew what else.

“Oh, don’t talk to me like that, child.” Roach Underwood, a British CEO of a tech company, slammed his coffee mug on his work desk. “You’re acting like you don’t want to live here.”

“...” In truth, Weevil would give anything to live anywhere  _ but  _ there. Yet he had neither the resources nor the courage to even consider running away.

“Anyway, have a seat.” Roach continued after his son sat in the chair in front of him. “It’s about your grades. From what I can understand, you are currently Domino High School’s salutatorian.”

Weevil already knew what Roach was going to say next. “I swear I will study hard to become valedictorian by the year’s end. You have my word, Father. ...To make sure of it, I won’t even go to Raptor’s house.”

“I hope so. That boy is too poor and has the worst grades of anyone at the school. You need to have more high-society connections, ones that can give you better connections when you eventually take over the company.”

“Which is why I won’t associate with that poor boy anymore, except for the bare minimum I need to at school. He  _ is  _ quite the distraction to my studies, after all.” It took all he had in him not to cry, not only hearing Roach speak about Rex that way, but also having to say such things about Rex himself.

“Now, go off to study. There is only about a month until finals, and you need perfect scores on them all if you want to be valedictorian.”

“Yes, Father. By your leave.” Weevil ran to his room as fast as he could, then finally let out the tears that had been hurting him. He didn’t know, or want to think, of what the gradual loss of contact with Rex would do to his mental health. “Rex… Oh, my love…”

Despite the pressure he felt from his father, Weevil was in no state of mind to study, and instead chose to assume a fetal position on his bed. The bug duelist continued to cry until his head hurt badly enough to lull him to sleep.

* * *

“Get out of my house, you useless wench, before I  _ force  _ you out of here! And you know damn well what I mean!” Roach yelled at his now-ex-wife, who left the house with only a paltry amount of cash and the clothes on her back.

An eight-year-old Weevil cried as he watched security guards usher his mother out of the house. They didn’t even bother to provide transportation for her, and the poor middle-aged woman had to run with entattered sandals on. “Mommy… Mommy!”

“You won’t be seeing  _ her  _ again, son.” Roach used a slightly kinder tone with his young son. “She wasn’t as good a mother as you think… From now on, I’m all you need.”

“But… But… Waaaah!”

“Master Weevil!” A maid named Adelaide ran after Weevil, who took off crying, never mind the direction.

“Ah!” Weevil made a quick dash for the family greenhouse and locked himself inside.

“Master Weevil…” By this point, Weevil’s loud crying had attracted the attention of many maids and butlers.

“Go away!” Weevil gave the door a good kick before taking off for the hibiscus bushes. It was humid, as any greenhouse ought to be, not to mention a little smelly from the freshly-poured cow manure fertilizer. But the thought of having to face Roach again stunk even more, and Weevil was grateful for this escape, no matter how temporary. “Sniff… Sniff… Daddy is so mean! What did Mommy ever do to  _ him?  _ ”

Before the third-grader could sit down and cry any more, he felt a pink-winged butterfly land on his nose. “Huh? What do  _ you  _ want?”

“Bzzz!” A bee buzzed from his shoulder.

At first, Weevil felt the need to swat these bugs away, but he was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t bite or sting him, and he let them remain. They were a lot friendlier than the deadly insects from the ecology books he was forced to read when he studied abroad. “Are you guys trying to help me feel better?”

The butterfly flapped its wings and the bee buzzed louder in response.

“H-Hey, that tickles!” Weevil playfully poked at a moth with blue wings that flew in front of him. And just like that, Weevil could feel all his worries fly away. Over the next four years, he didn’t even care that his strict father forbade him from having friends. The colourful butterflies, gentle moths, and all the other insects he encountered in the greenhouse were all the friends he needed. His studies improved all the more, knowing that a fun trip to the greenhouse awaited him after he finished a calculus problem or whatever tedious subject he studied that day. Nor did he care about the passing comments the servants made to each other, and to his father.

“Master Roach.” Adelaide came to her master with a tray full of tea and tea biscuits. “There’s… something I feel you should know.”

“Concerning?” Roach raised an eyebrow.

“It’s your son. Ever since you kicked Camellia out of the house four years ago, that boy has been spending an unusual amount of time in the greenhouse, talking to himself. If he’s not in his study, he’s in the greenhouse, refusing to come out. It’s… worrisome.”

“I see. I thank you for bringing him up, by the way. You see, there was a matter of great importance that I wanted to speak with him about. Go fetch him at once.”

“Yes, sir.” And with that, Adelaide was gone, returning with Weevil in only a few minutes.

“...Father.” Weevil was clearly annoyed that he was interrupted from another play session in the greenhouse.

“...Son. There is something I need to say to you.”

Weevil didn’t say a word as Roach stared at him with icy blue eyes. 

“I have just received word that Gozaburo Kaiba, president of Kaiba Corporation, has died. His son, Seto, has taken his place.”

“Seto Kaiba… Isn’t he that kid about my age who’s already big in the world of Duel Monsters?”

“Correct. As you know, KaibaCorp is our company’s only threatening rival. It is important, then, that you are raised to be a suitable rival to Seto so that KaibaCorp is no longer a threat. This means that you will not only have a rigorous tutoring curriculum, but you will also learn how to duel. ...And this also means that you won’t have a lot of spare time.”

Weevil knew this meant he would have little - if any - time for the greenhouse anymore. He frowned, slowly tuning out whatever insignificant thing Roach had to say next.

“We will start with introducing you to our company’s card collection. Adelaide is a trained duelist, and will help you build your first deck.” Roach nodded to his maid, signaling for her to escort Weevil to another room.

“Hmph.” Weevil wasn’t ready to take on a whole new schedule, just so he could become a perfect doll for his father.

“There, there, Master Weevil.” Once they got to the room, Adelaide opened a vault full of cards. “We have allied ourselves with Maximillion Pegasus, so we have every single card known to man, including his latest releases.”

“Yeah, cool.” Weevil spoke passively as he approached the vault. The first card he saw, however, caught his eye - it looked just like the blue-winged moth he saw in the greenhouse four years ago! “Wow! Pegasus made a card of this guy?”

“That is Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth,” Adelaide explained as Weevil admired the card. “It’s very hard to summon, but is the strongest insect card of them all.”

“You mean, there are more insect cards?” 

“Why, yes! Would you like to make an insect deck, then?”

“Yeah!” 

Weevil started to get very hyped about this game he was being introduced to. This hype drove him to become a top-ranked duelist very quickly, surpassing known duelists much older than he. It didn’t take long for Weevil to win his first local tournament, against Adelaide herself. Soon, his passion turned into a power-trip to defeat other duelists no matter what. He had nearly forgotten the greenhouse insects that inspired his dueling style, and no longer even thought to visit the greenhouse anymore. Why waste time looking at dumb flowers when you could use that time to either study or improve your deck?

Two years later, this power-trip now brought him to enter the regionals tournament, in hopes that Seto Kaiba would be there too. But when he arrived in the room in which he was to wait for the prelims to start, he found only a single kid in there. About his age, Weevil reckoned.

“Yo!” The kid waved. He wore three three tops of different colours. Wild, long brown-and-purple hair stuck out from under his red beanie.

_ What a tacky wardrobe…  _ Weevil gave the odd kid a cock-eyed look, deciding almost immediately that he didn’t like him.  _ And his grooming could use more work.  _ “So… I guess the other participants in this tournament haven’t arrived yet?”

“I suppose not. They’re probably too afraid of my duelin’ dinos, haha.”

_ And he’s so uncouth, too…  _ Weevil didn’t have to take a very big whiff of the kid to smell an earthly body odour coming from him.  _ Does he not know what deodorant is? Gods!  _

Just when Weevil was about to run to the loo as an excuse to get away from this kid, the weird kid beckoned for him to come over. “You might as well just wait here, man.”

Weevil wasn’t quite sure why, but he didn’t feel like running to the loo anymore. “Okay…”

“So what kind of deck do you use?”

This kid didn’t waste any time in cutting right to the small talk, which as an introvert, Weevil really hated. “I use only insect monsters, along with lots of support spells and traps.”

“‘Support?’ Pssh! In dueling, it’s either stomp or  _ be  _ stomped!” To demonstrate how tough he thought he was, the kid got up and starting stomping very loudly. “And I do that with the strongest dinosaur cards anyone has ever seen!”

“Heh.” Weevil smirked. “Only a complete dino brain like  _ you  _ would rely on brute force and not strategy.”

“Hahaha! I, the duelist extraordinaire Rex Raptor, have no need for strategy!”

_ Oh, you’ll learn, boy.  _ Weevil shook his head at Rex’s foolishness.  _ You’ll learn.  _

Just then, someone knocked on the door to the room, and a middle-aged man entered. “Um, excuse me?” 

“Yes, how can I help you?” asked Rex.

“Is there a reason why you boys are here today?”

“We’re waiting for the prelims to start. Why else?”

“I’m sorry to inform you, but the regionals prelims don’t start until tomorrow.”

“What?!” Rex looked to his digital watch. “Oh, shit! Today’s the 28, not the 29th!”

Weevil rolled his eyes as he and Rex walked together out of the building. “You fartknocker.”

“It takes one to know one, buttmunch! You made the same mistake, you know!” Rex stopped in his tracks when the two of them reached the sidewalk. “...By the way, what’s a ‘fartknocker?’”

“When I was in boarding school in England, that was an insult I heard from the other kids. You see, I’m half-British. I've got some German blood in me too, and thanks to my rich father, I speak more languages than you can shake a fist at."

“Oh, sweet! I’m part European, too! My dad is half-Greek. At least, that’s what Mom says.”

“Oh?”

“...Never mind. My dad abandoned my mom when she was still pregnant with me. Now  _ he’s  _ the real fartknocker! And a real  _ pendejo  _ too.”

“Stop picking up my words, buttmunch. ...Wait, what’s a ‘ _ pendejo?’”  _

“It's a word my mom sometimes uses. She’s half-Mexican, and I know a few Spanish words. Mostly just the cuss words, though, haha!”

_ How many races do you have in you?  _ Weevil never would have thought that two very different cultures - Mexican and Japanese - could ever intersect. Yet here, in this odd kid, was proof of that.

It was just then that Rex had realized that Weevil had followed him the entire way home. “Wow, where has the time gone? Shouldn’t you be going home?”

“...I really would rather sleep in the park than go back to  _ that  _ place.”

“Then how ‘bout you stay over at my house tonight? You’re probably hungry, I bet.”

Weevil eyed the beat-up mobile home, and was certain it wouldn’t be up to his standards. “I don’t suppose you have maids and butlers who cook for you?”

“No, but I have something even better. Both of my moms work for a restaurant, so they’re amazing cooks! The best you’ve ever seen!”

“I’m sorry, what? How can you have two moms?”

“They got married, duh!”

This novel concept left Weevil dumbfounded. All his life, his conservative father taught him that he was destined to marry a woman and have kids with her, all for the sake of the company. And marrying for love, not business, was unheard of in his stuffy childhood. On top of Rex's racial background and downright free-spirited disposition, Weevil felt bombarded with so much wacky information that it made his head spin.

But before he could make a comment about it, a woman with wild purple hair and an apron walked to the door. “Rex! There you are! So, how did your prelims go?”

“They didn’t ‘go’ at all. I thought they were today, but they’re actually tomorrow.” Rex pointed at Weevil. “And this bu- I mean, kid made the same mistake.”

“A new friend of yours?” Weevil couldn’t get a word in before Ptera continued, “Perfect timing! I’ve actually cooked a bunch of takoyaki, among other things. How ‘bout you join us for dinner?”

“I don’t know…” Weevil hesitantly set foot in the house. Indeed, the interior was as rugged as the exterior suggested. Still, it smelled unusually nice, like forest pine needles, and he could hear a loud crackling from the kitchen. Frying from a pan, Weevil could only imagine, considering he had never actually set foot in his own kitchen while his house servants cooked in there. “I’m a vegetarian.” So he said, but the one “meat” dish he liked was fried bee larvae.

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty head about that.” Ptera led the boys into their kitchen. “I’ve cooked all the vegetable dishes you could ask for. I hope you like fajitas.”

“Mom, for the millionth time, you’re not gonna get me to eat bell peppers!” Rex gagged at the mention of his least favourite food. “You can feed them all to  _ this  _ kid!”

As Tricera began to set the table, Weevil spoke up. “I’m not ‘this kid,’ I have a name!”

“And what is it?” Rex took a seat at the dinner table, and invited Weevil to sit next to him, which he accepted.

“Weevil Underwood.”

"‘Underwood?’” Tricera nearly dropped the bowl of Sopa Azteca she carried to the table. As it was the last dish to be brought out, she barely had room to even put it there. “Isn’t that the name of some tech company… or something?”

Weevil should have known that these people living in this neck of the woods would barely know about The Underwood Company. But he had the presence of mind to not diss people about to give him free food. Plus, he was too hungry to think about company stuff right now, and dug straight into the vegetable fajitas. “This is smashing, thank you!”

“Never heard that word before, except for when I’m ‘smashing’ my foes at Duel Monsters.” Ptera looked upon her house guest. “And ‘Underwood’ sounds like a foreign name.”

“That’s because he’s part British, and a rich kid who studied abroad,” Rex spoke up before Weevil could say anything. “Ooh! Weevil, you said you speak many languages, right? Why don’t you say something in… uh… German, or something?”

“Du bist ein Trottel und musst ein Bad nehme,” Weevil spoke with a straight face.

“Woooooow, that’s so rad!” Rex stared with a mouth full of soup, clearly not understanding a word of what Weevil just told him. “Hey, maybe if I teach you Spanish, you can teach me German or French?”

“Maybe after you learn more than just the bad words.” Ptera pointed her spoon at her son. “Well, it’s nice to know we’re not the only multiracial people in Domino City. I think you and Rex will get along just fine, especially since you both love Duel Monsters.”

“Except I’m a whole league higher than  _ you. _ ” Weevil smirked at Rex.

“Oh yeah? You want to prove that right here and now?” Rex got up, ready to flick some soup at Weevil, but his mother wouldn’t be having it.

“ _ Siéntate, mi hijo _ ,” Ptera ordered. “Duel later, eat now.”

As they continued to eat with occasionally small talk going around, both boys thought,  _ It’s gonna be good training for the prelims, that’s for sure. _


	7. Notions of Love

Chapter 7 - Notions of Love

Weevil found himself staying more often at Rex’s house, and being the cunning young man he was, he always had an excuse ready for Roach. “Oh, I’m training to duel,” and “oh, I’m out on a business meeting” were his two favourite excuses. Rex’s house was so far out from the city that even a man as smart and influential as Roach could never find him out here.

Despite how poor the Raptor family was, for once in his life, Weevil felt a true family life at that household - and in that close-knit neighborhood, for that matter. There was a party just about every weekend in the trailer park - whether it was for a birthday, anniversary, or just for shits and giggles. The other residents could hear Weevil speak multiple languages for hours, whether it was reciting a poem in French or how to cuss someone out in Italian. It amazed him how something so trivial could entertain these people, sure. But he didn’t expect for their ways to amaze  _ him _ in return. He had never even touched a frying pan until Ptera taught him how to cook the day of a barbecue - and said barbecue was also his first time seeing an outdoor grill. It was then that Weevil decided that he didn’t need money to have fun, as long as wonderful company surrounded him. He had to resist the urge to spill the beans of his true whereabouts to Roach, and he found the perfect outlet in the form of an elegant diary he wrote in just about every day.

Nobody recognized this softening demeanour more than Rex, who even at school found himself thinking about the bug duelist more often. Weevil had just left the mobile home on the day of the finals, and Rex resolved to follow him soon after. “Aww, he was so happy just being here…”

“But you know, he  _ is _ your opponent in the regionals finals,” Tricera cut in, sitting next to her stepson on the living room couch.

“I know that, Mama.” Rex flipped the channels, and landed on National Geographic. To his joy, the Dinosaurs 101 special came on. He knew everything it had to say, but that didn’t make it less enjoyable to watch. “But I’d rather not go. I’d much rather watch him beat the shit out of someone else.”

“Ooh, sounds like someone is in love.” Tricera cooed.

This notion had never even occurred to Rex. “L-Love?! Why would I be in love with a pinworm like _ him?!” _

“He’s all you ever talk about.” Tricera made a quick trip to the kitchen to get popcorn, then returned to the couch. “Here, you want some?”

“Gladly.” Rex dove his fist into the popcorn bowl. “And aren’t you a bit old to be teasing someone about crushes?” 

“And aren’t you a bit young to be talking to your mama that way?” Even when scolding her stepson, Tricera still held a jovial tone. “Speaking of, shouldn’t you get going to finals yourself, instead of loafing on the couch?”

In truth, Rex wanted to give Weevil plenty of time to get ahead, to avoid having to walk with him side-by-side. And now, he figured that Weevil was far enough ahead for them not to meet along the way to finals. “Yeah, yeah.”

Before Rex could take a step outside, Ptera came out of the master bedroom with Rex’s deck in hand. “I think that  _ this _ would be a little important for the finals. Maybe.”

“Th-Thanks, Mom.” With that, Rex put his deck in one of his vest pockets - and was certainly surprised to see Weevil waiting for him as soon as he closed the door.

“You certainly took your time getting ready.” Weevil laughed. 

“Shaddup!” Rex gritted his teeth, and despite how the both of them were supposed to be at the venue in only thirty minutes, he felt no sense of urgency. It wasn’t even that far, which surprised him, considering the grand scale of this tournament. “After  _ you. _ ”

Weevil raised an eyebrow, but took his cue anyway, and began walking forward. “Are you really sure you care about this match, if you’re taking your sweet time getting to the place?”

The two of them didn’t get very far before Rex stopped again, just short of the crosswalk, and placed both hands on his chest. He had been walking fairly slowly the whole time, and the air was cool enough to be sweater weather. So he couldn’t fathom why he felt warm and fuzzy all of a sudden.  _ We only left the house 15 minutes ago… So, why is my heart racing? _

“Um, Earth to Rex!” Weevil got right in Rex’s face, and poked him lightly in the chest.

_ No, don’t get too close! _ Rex turned away, hoping to the gods that Weevil couldn’t feel his heartbeat. Never had he, a bold young man who readily spoke his mind, been at such a loss for words. “W-Well, would you look at that? The light just turned green!”

“Don’t just stand there, then! We’re going to be late!”

To their fortune, the boys weren’t late; nevertheless, the announcer of this match sounded nonplussed. But the cheering fans that surrounded them couldn’t have cared less. “Gentlemen, the match starts in five minutes. I  _ was _ going to give you time to run to the restroom and such, but you barely have time to shuffle each other’s decks. Do that, and head immediately to your dueling platforms.”

“It’s all your fault…” Weevil impatiently held out his deck for Rex to shuffle.

“You should have just gone ahead, then. Oh, and just so you know, you’re going down.” Rex sounded tough for a spell. But he couldn’t help but lightly brush his fingers against Weevil’s at the deck exchange, and let them linger for a while.

“Are you just going to stall some more, or…?”

“M-My bad!” Rex hastily shuffled Weevil’s deck, handed it back, and immediately headed for his dueling platform. 

“See you on the platforms.” With that, Weevil walked off while giving Rex a wave.

_ It’s apparent that he doesn’t feel the same…  _ Rex stared at his hands as an elevator began to take him to his platform.  _ And- _

Rex slapped himself to awaken from his thoughts.  _ Him, _ in love with a scrawny and dorky entomophile?  _ Wait, what am I saying? There’s no way… There’s no way I’m in love with Weevil… Am I? _

He dropped the matter when he heard the crowd behind him cheer “Go Rex!” and “squash that bug!,” among other colourful insults.

“Haha, yeah right…” Rex spoke out loud as he had the first move in the duel. “And even if we  _ were _ together, I’m sure I’d lose whatever respect I have as a duelist.”

“Huh?” Weevil held out his ear, not quite making out what Rex just said. “Did I just hear you say ‘I’m going to be bug juice?’”

“I think you meant ‘time to stomp this chumpasaurus.’” Rex drew his starting hand.

As soon as that announcer’s “duel standby” reached Rex’s ears, he put all notions of love out of his mind, focusing only on defeating his opponent. For a while, he had the upper hand… Then Weevil did. Then  _ he _ had the upper hand once again. The projected outcome of the duel kept going back and forth as the finalists gradually expended almost all of their Life Points - and cards.

That was when Rex drew one of his strongest cards, Two-Headed King Rex.  _ Hah! I don’t even need to Fusion Summon Bracchio-Raidus to defeat _ you!

“All right, Weevil! Consider yourself dinosaur chow! ...Your move.”

“Hehe… And all I’ve got is this weak little bug.” Weevil summoned one of his weakest monsters, Basic Insect, in attack mode.

Rex revelled in the cheering that followed what he believed to be Weevil’s swan song. Then he made his next move. “King Rex, let’s take this championship! Stomp ‘em!” 

“Hehehe…” Weevil was unfazed by Rex’s attempt to intimidate him. “You’ve attacked your way into my trap! But then, how would your tiny dinosaur brain know? When an enemy attacks, my Vortex activates!”

“Oh, no! It’s a trap card!”

_ No shit! _ “Which totally traps your King Rex in its inescapable embrace!”

_ Son of a bitch! _ Rex could only watch as Weevil’s trap card rendered Two-Headed King Rex powerless. “No! My King Rex!”

“And while he’s trapped there, I’ll upgrade my Basic Insect by giving him Insect Armor With Laser Cannon! Not such a weak little bug after all, hmm?” Weevil appeared sly for a brief second before ferociously yelling, “Attack! ...And King Rex is… extinct.”

“Aaaah!” Rex’s eyebrows twitched as his Life Points reached zero, and he looked to the floor in shame. “Aww, beaten by a bug.”

As both of their dueling platforms lowered, Rex ignored the cheers for “our newest champion,” as the announcer put it. He ignored Weevil holding up his deck in triumph and basking in the limelight. He got so sick of watching Weevil enjoy all of this attention that he turned for the exit.

But what he didn’t ignore was the announcer saying, “And now, to present your victory trophy is Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters himself!”

Rex stopped in his tracks as a man with silver hair and (apparently) only one functional eye appeared from a trap door in the floor. “Eh?”

“Congratulations on your victory, Mr. Underwood. I look forward to seeing you and Mr. Raptor at Duelist Kingdom.”

_ So,  _ this _ is the man who created all those cards of my beautiful greenhouse insects… _ Weevil blushed. “Y-Yes… Thank you, sir.”

_ No… _ Rex’s glare hardened on Pegasus.  _ Get your hands off of him, you disgusting piece of- _

In his anger, Rex didn’t notice Weevil walking up to him, that was until the bug duelist got within two feet. “Hahaha! In your face, dino brain!”

“...” Rex nearly crushed his deck in his hand, and forced his deck into one of his vest pockets. “Shut… up…” he whispered too quietly for Weevil to hear.

“What’s the matter? Embarrassed that I showed everyone that your dumb dinos are nothing but weak little salamanders?” Weevil certainly didn’t expect for Rex to hug him out of nowhere - and in front of a bunch of cameras, no less. “R-Rex…?”

_ So… So, it’s true… _ Rex didn’t care anymore if Weevil could feel - or hear - his heart beating so fast. He didn’t care, either, what people thought of him now stroking Weevil’s hair.  _ I’ve finally realized that I- _

Rex didn’t even care what people might say of the kiss he was about to steal from Weevil. But before he could, Pegasus cut in with, “Good try out there, Mr. Raptor! You’re invited to Duelist Kingdom, and with a good room, too! I look forward to your-”

Rex had every intention of telling Weevil how he felt, but the minute Pegasus opened his mouth, he hadn’t the will to confess anymore. That voice brought him back to reality, and how he could have embarrassed himself and Weevil on national television. Rex now shook in anger as he felt tears about to come on. “Do you ever stop talking? Good gods, man!”

So were Rex’s last words before he turned around, running straight for home. Unfortunately for the citizens of Domino City, it had begun to rain hard. But Rex didn’t care, and allowed himself to get soaked as he slowed down when he could see his house. His deck was probably so sticky now that he’d either have to spend hours peeling the cards apart, or just get a new deck altogether. He kicked his shoes off so hard that they hit the door, splashing even more rainwater about. He took off one sock at a time, ringing them out slowly, before intending to open the door.

He didn’t even need to open the door for Tricera to greet him and allow him inside. “Goodness, Rex, you’re soaked! Didn’t you read the forecast for-”

Tricera stopped talking when she noticed that Rex’s face wasn’t wet just because of the rain. “Sweetie, I saw the duel on the T.V. Your mom’s at work now, but I’m sure she saw it on the bar T.V.s. I know that this loss hit you hard, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“Mama…” Rex finally began to talk, but didn’t stop crying. “You… You were right all along…”

“About what?” Tricera spoke as she wrapped a freshly washed-and-dried towel around her stepson.

Rex buried his face in Tricera’s chest. “I’m… I’m in love with Weevil! I’m madly in love with him! But…  _ hic… _ I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell him! If I did… I can’t even begin to imagine what the world would think of him! Or what  _ he _ would think of  _ me! _ ”

“Oh, sweetie, sweetie…” Tricera stroked Rex’s hair, even through all the wet tangles. “Shh… You guys will be fine. You can tell him whenever you’re ready. Just know that no matter what happens - even if the whole world hates you - your mom and I will always be here. Now, you sit on the couch and get warm while I make you some hot cocoa.”

“Thank you, Mama…” Rex stopped crying as he took a seat on the living room couch, wrapping the towel even tighter. Little did he know that even throughout the years, he could not find it in him to confess to Weevil and potentially undo the friendship they worked so hard to build - that was until a chance encounter and time travel with Atem. With pleading eyes, Rex prayed that his racing heart would convey the sincerity of his love.


	8. I'm Not a Brat!

Chaper 8 - I’m Not A Brat!

~14 May 2005~ 

Thanks to this nice ending to his dream, Weevil awoke the next day - a Saturday - with enough energy to study for finals. He knew all of his subjects well enough, but didn’t want to miss a single math formula, scientific term, or literary device. He took breaks only to use the restroom; his meals were delivered to his room, and he studied even while he ate. Even when he wanted to take a nap, he didn’t take one, and he really didn’t like coffee or energy drinks. But thinking about Rex and how he fell in love with him was all he needed to power him through his studies.

Surprisingly, Rex had just woken up with even more energy, and immediately thought to ask Weevil to help him study. He tried to study on his own, but he had let so much homework pile up that he didn’t know where to begin. Too many formulas to memorize, and too many confusing poems to read. 

“Oh…” Rex had just remembered that Weevil had been summoned home the morning previous, and wasn’t sure when he’d be seeing him outside of school. “I probably shouldn’t ask him… I suppose, then, that there’s only one other person I can ask.

Rex donned his green jacket, and with only a, “I’m going out, Mom,” he started making way for KaibaCorp. Ever since he became a “Duel Monsters vigilante,” Rex had stopped the stealing of many players’ cards by unsavoury individuals. And now that dishonourable duelists were at a minimum, Rex not only had to not do it anymore, but he also landed in Mokuba’s good graces. Before he could even approach the driveway of KaibaCorp’s main building, Mokuba’s executive Roland stopped him.

“Sorry, kid, no trespassers,” Roland spoke bluntly.

“Aw, come on, I’m not a trespasser!” Rex whined. “Don’t you know who I am?”

“An annoying kid who is trespassing.”

“Argh, screw you!”

Rex reached for a nearby rock and was about to throw it, that was until Mokuba came out of the building. “What seems to be the problem here, Roland?”

“Mr. Mokuba, sir. I just stopped this brat from entering the premises.”

“Roland, he’s not a brat. This guy helped to return stolen cards to their owners, remember?”

“Y-Yes, well…”

“Enough. You may take your leave now.”

“Yes, sir.” And with that, Roland was gone.

“I apologize for the ruckus, Rex,” spoke the 15-year-old president of KaibaCorp.

_ Good riddance. _

“So what brings you here?”

“Oh, about that.” Rex showed Mokuba the contents of his backpack. “I can’t ask Weevil for help, so… I was wondering if you could help me study for finals.”

“You know, I’m not only the president of a major company, but I’ve also got my own tests to study for.”

“Oh…” Rex’s voice began to shake. “Then…”

“Hey, calm down, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. We’ve got the same teachers, and I’m currently on vacation from KaibaCorp duties.” 

“I didn’t know you even went to the same school I did,” Rex spoke as Mokuba let him in the building. “I-I mean, thank you. But why would you ever need to go to school if you are the president of a major company? If it were me, I’d just be sitting on my pile of money while all my loser classmates work hard like losers.”

“Many people said the same thing about Seto.” Mokuba hadn’t uttered the name of his elder brother in a long time. “But it’s pretty much the same reason why many child actors still go to school. There’s still so much I need to learn about the world, that would help me be a better CEO.”

“Gotcha.” Rex, as dimwitted as he was, wasn’t quite sure he understood. He had never even been to Weevil’s house, so when he entered the building, the first place he noticed was the exotic kitchen. “Whoa! So,  _ this _ must be what Weevil’s kitchen looks like!”

“Well, we  _ are _ even richer than the Underwood Company,” Mokuba replied.

“Sweet! I can’t wait to-” No sooner had Rex taken a step forward, when he noticed a strong fish smell come from the kitchen. “HOLY MOTHER OF HORUS, WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!”

“That? It’s just fried milkfish.” Mokuba seemed unfazed by the smell - still, the sight of Rex gagging and turning for upstairs concerned him. “Hey, you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I think I’ll be fine,” answered Rex when he reached the top of the stairs and caught his breath.

“In that case, let’s go to my room.” Mokuba walked up the stairs, leading Rex to a room with a great library. A couple of candles - both with the scent of sandalwood - burned from a nightstand with a giant mirror. A cherry wood table stood in the middle of an ornate red-and-white carpet; Rex figured he and Mokuba would be studying there. “We’re having a dinner party later with a few partners of KaibaCorp, which is why there were so many chefs there. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

“I don’t know…”  _ It’s weird, because other than takoyaki, milkfish is one of my favourite foods. Maybe it’s gone rancid. _ Rex didn’t want to be an ungrateful guest, so for once he didn’t speak his mind.

“If you’re worried about the smell, then I can have some food delivered here,” Mokuba spoke as he gestured for Rex to sit at the large table. “You like takoyaki, right?”

“With chocolate syrup,” Rex proudly added.

“Okaaay…” Mokuba looked at Rex cock-eyed. “Now, what subject was it that you needed the most help in?”

Rex wasted no time in saying, “Math! I don’t get this integral shit at all! I don’t even know what the damned word means!”

“I… guess we’ll start with calculus, then?”

So began a long day of studying, with at least half of it spent on math alone. Rex was surprised to learn that he actually knew most of the other subjects very well, he just hadn’t been paying much attention in class. Unfortunately for him, that lack of attention caused a nearly irreversible dent to his grades, and he knew he had to pretty much ace all of his tests in order to graduate. But he didn’t want Weevil to move on from high school while he repeated a grade, so he pressed onward - with a little help from his trusted pencil-under-chin tactic.

Thankfully, the time of the dinner party had come, and Rex figured he had studied enough for the day. So did Mokuba. “So do you think you’re a little more prepared now?”

“Sort of… At least now I know what an integral is.”

“That’s good to hear.” Mokuba began to put away his textbooks. “And don’t worry about getting it all right away. We’ve still got two weeks until finals.”

“Oh?” Rex picked up the one book that Mokuba didn’t pick up. “You forgot one, Mokuba!”

Mokuba had already walked to get their food, and Rex didn’t have the energy to follow him. So he decided to open the book and look through it until Mokuba got back. “Wait, this isn’t a textbook… It’s a photo album!” 

“Hmm?” Mokuba soon came back with tea and a huge bowl of takoyaki - including, of course, a squeeze jar of chocolate syrup.

“S-Sorry, man!” Rex nearly slammed the album shut, hoping that Mokuba wouldn’t kick him out for intruding into something so personal. “I didn’t know- I’ll go home now.”

Before Rex could close the album, Mokuba sat down and put their refreshments in the middle of the table. “It’s okay. In fact, you’re more than welcome to stay the night.”

“Are you sure?” Rex didn’t even remember the last time he had a sleepover. Fifth grade, maybe. It would save his moms the trouble of having to cook for him, at least. “In that case, let me call Mom.”

As Rex began to drizzle his plate with chocolate syrup, he fished his flip phone out of his pocket. “Yeah, Mom? I’m going to be staying at Mokuba’s house.”

“Wh-What?!” Ptera was tired from a long shift at work, yet sounded excited. “As in  _ the _ Mokuba Kaiba, president of KaibaCorp? In that case, have fun! And get his autograph for me if you can!”

“Well, that was easy.” Rex chuckled and took a bite of the chocolate-drenched takoyaki. As he flipped through the album, he noticed a few pictures of whom he thought were Kaiba and a baby Mokuba. But he also noticed a pretty young woman with caramel brown hair and deep indigo eyes. “Ooh! Who’s this?”

“That’s my mom.”

“Oh? I didn’t know that Gozaburo had a wife.” Even Rex had heard of the ruthless former president of KaibaCorp, but he didn’t know that the Kaiba brothers were orphans.

“I… I mean my real mom. Seto said that she suffered a heart condition, and died not long after giving birth to me. My real dad died not long after that.” Mokuba hadn’t recalled his mother’s death in a while, and it hurt him to talk about her.

“I’m sorry to hear that…” Even considering what a crybaby Weevil was, Rex was still awful at consoling crying people, and just let Mokuba cry it out. “For what it’s worth, I never knew my father. According to my mom, he was a jerk who just left her out to dry when he found out she was pregnant. And for that, I can’t forgive him.”

“Is… Is that so?” Mokuba sounded perplexed at first. At any rate, Rex’s short tale got him to stop crying. “I mean, that’s horrible.”

“Oh, don’t be.” Rex kicked back and laughed when the two of them had finished their dinner. “That buttmunch can go suck it for all I care. If I ever meet him in real life, you can bet I’ll kick his ass back to the Stone Age.”

“Pfft…” Mokuba tried to stifle a giggle, but that didn’t last long. “Haha! Man, Rex, I didn’t know you were such a funny guy! It’s hard to believe that you and Weevil were once those annoying idiots who nearly crashed the KC Grand Tournament all those years ago. Do you remember?”

“I wish I didn’t.” Rex rubbed his temples upon recalling his (and Weevil’s) embarrassing loss to Zigfried von Schroeder in the prelims of that tournament. “I can probably beat that pink-haired freak now, though! He doesn’t stand a chance against my Ultimate Conductor Tyranno!”

“But I bet I do,” Mokuba smirked.

“You think so? Then we totally got to duel sometime!”

“Yeah, except now’s not a good time. Maybe in the morning.” Despite how hardworking he was, Mokuba was still a kid, and certainly had the sleep schedule of one. “Off to bed with you, then.”

As shocked as Rex was at Mokuba’s unusual show of hospitality, he didn’t question it then, and simply went to bed to prepare for another day of studying (and hopefully dueling).


	9. Ginger Tea

Chapter 9 - Ginger Tea 

~29 May 2005~ 

“This is it, the last day of the finals… And it’s math.” Rex woke up with a groggy head. He had spent most of last week studying, making sure he knew every step to solving a calculus problem and more about biology than just “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” But he almost instantly regretted it as he walked to the kitchen and didn’t even feel an appetite yet. “Nothing a little coffee couldn’t solve.” So he said, but his whole body was in so much physical and mental anguish that he wasn’t sure if coffee would help.

Ptera cooked breakfast in the kitchen while she listened to her son talk. “Hey, you’re not in college _yet._ Don’t have more than one cup, young man.”

“Yes, Mom…” Rex thought that his headache would abate with a little caffeine; on the contrary, he felt significantly worse, even before he began to drink it. His mom continued to talk to him, but the rapidly rising dizziness in his head tuned her out. The second any scent of food and drink entered his nose, his stomach lurched. “Ugh…”

Ptera immediately stopped what she was doing when she noticed Rex turn slightly pale, and placed a cool wet towel on his forehead. “Rex! _Pobrecito,_ what’s wrong?”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up…” Rex spoke with his head on the table. He pushed his coffee mug out of the way, spilling some coffee, and hoped a few quick seconds of shut-eye could magically cure his stomachache.

“Then you need to stay home! It’s not going to do you any good if you throw up in the middle of your test!”

“But Mom, I’ve worked too hard to stay home! Just give me some of that ginger tea of yours and some aceta…”

“‘Acetaminophen?’” Ptera spoke as she began brewing her signature tea. 

“Yeah, that’s it! I’ll be fine if I have those things.” Rex started chugging the tea and immediately felt better. He even had it in him to eat some of the breakfast Ptera cooked.

“If you insist… But as soon as you start feeling sick, let your teacher know, okay?” Ptera gave Rex his handbag and a quick kiss on his cheek. “Good luck! Knock ‘em dead!”

“I… think that that the test is going to knock _me_ dead.” Though Rex’s nausea was now gone, he still felt incredibly nervous about how he’d do. He looked over a math formula sheet while he walked, not bothering to look up at who he might bump into along the way. “Okay, so sine is ‘opposite over hypotenuse…’ Oww!” Rex crashed into one of his classmates, crumpling the formula sheet in the process.

“Hey, you walk much?” The kid he crashed into, Espa, growled.

“That’s my line, man!”

“Oh?” Espa took the formula sheet from Rex, glossed over it, and let it float to the ground. “Ha! You’re still having trouble memorizing something so basic? If that’s the case, then you’re going to have a hard time passing this test, let alone passing this year of high school! Meanwhile, Weevil and I are in the top five of our graduating class. It’s no wonder I beat you handily at Battle City.”

“Believe me, _I know,_ ” Rex spoke through gritted teeth. Here he was, trying his hardest at the one thing that he was never good at - academics. He didn’t need nor appreciate brainiacs like Espa Roba rubbing it in all the time and making school look so easy. “Which is why I had a special person help me study. And before you ask, the person’s name is Nunya. As in ‘Nunya Business.’”

“Is that so? Well, today’s the moment of truth. If your efforts miraculously pay off, then maybe I’ll see ya in college.” So spoke Espa as he walked ahead, speaking to fellow high-ranking students of his class.

 _I’ll prove you all wrong!_ Rex was hoping to find some solace in his boyfriend after his unpleasant encounter with Espa Roba. But he didn’t see Weevil until after they both arrived at their classroom. “Oh! Hey, Weeves! Where the hell were you all this time?”

“...” Weevil knew he had hurt his boyfriend, and felt ashamed of it. “H-Hey, hun.”

“It’s your dad, isn’t it?” Rex asked as the both of them took adjacent seats, and waited for their classmates to finish coming in the room. He wasn’t surprised to see Amber sitting at the front of the room, chatting it up with girls who wanted to learn something useful before finals and with boys who simply wanted to ogle her. “I bet his homophobic ass wouldn’t even let you out of the house, let alone to see me.”

“Never mind _him._ ” The teacher had just arrived, so Weevil knew he had little time left to talk to Rex. “What about you? Do you think you’ll do well?”

“I felt like utter crap this morning, but I think all that studying will pay off.” Rex took one last look at his formula sheet before the teacher looked at him. “Er… Maybe.”

“What did you just say?” Weevil grimaced when he heard the first part of that sentence.

“All right, class, the test will begin! Take out only a pencil, a graphing calculator, and a water bottle if you brought one.”

“Oh, um… Hey, the teacher’s coming!” Rex was thankful of this teacher’s presence for once; he wasn’t prepared to explain to Weevil how he nearly tossed his cookies that morning. What he wasn’t thankful for was the fact he left his bottle of ginger tea at home. _Oh, shit… I’m really going to regret it…_

And regret it he did; about halfway into the test, Rex felt a new wave of nausea hit him, and it hit him hard and fast. In his effort to ward it off, he began to lose his concentration towards his test. Amber and Weevil already handed in their completed tests and left the room for a break. _Smartasses… But I’m… gonna… make it…_

Even the classmates who would normally tease Rex noticed how sick he looked; one told the teacher when he went to hand in his test. By this point, almost everyone had handed in their tests; only about five, including Rex, remained. “Mr. Raptor, are you feeling okay? Do you need to go to the nurse?” the teacher whispered.

Rex responded with a much louder voice, “No, it’s okay, Teach! I’ve only got five more questions!”

As the teacher walked away with a concerned look, Rex noticed that, indeed he had five questions… five _very long_ questions. He could already feel his stomach roiling and knew he had to finish fast. _Thank the gods that I looked at this exact same question with Mokuba yesterday!_ Rex thought as he finished showing his work, in barely legible writing.

“All right, you have two minutes left-”

No sooner had the teacher said this when Rex dashed for the teacher’s desk, slammed his test papers on it, and ran for the loo without taking his stuff.

“Oh!” Weevil looked from the book he was reading with Amber just outside the classroom. “Rex! How did it-”

Rex had barely made it to the loo nearby, and Amber dropped the book when she heard Rex blowing chunks all the way from where she stood, loudly enough to draw attention from surrounding students. “Ooh… That doesn’t sound good. Weevil, I take it you have Rex’s home phone number?”

“Of course I do. His mom is going to be really mad, though… In the meantime, can you go tell the nurse and tell him to come here?” After Weevil let Ptera know what was going on, he entered the loo and knocked on the door of the stall Rex was in. “Hun, are you okay?”

“Does it _look_ like I’m okay, bug boy?” Rex only got those words in before he threw up again.

“Maybe you should have taken the tea with you.” As Rex’s vomiting bout drew on - for a long while, it seemed - Weevil tried to console his boyfriend in any way he could, and refrained from his urge to cringe at Rex’s predicament. He reminded Rex of one of the few things that could help - his recent victory in last month’s tag duel - and it seemed to work.

Finally, Rex felt the nausea ease up, but still had a headache. He flushed the loo one last time before sitting on the counters, rubbing his head. “I _was_ going to, but I forgot.”

“Sigh… Of course you did.”

The incoming nurse took the conversation out of their hands. “Mr. Raptor, what happened?”

“I… uh… started getting really sick as soon as I finished my math final, about five minutes ago.” Rex hated so many people worrying about him; he already got plenty of that at home. 

“Do you think you’ll be able to walk to my office and rest while you wait for your parents to get here?”

“Yeah…” Rex let Weevil and Amber help him to the nurse’s office. “Though, I’m not ready for the lecture I’m gonna get from Mom and Mama.”

Unfortunately, that lecture Rex received from his parents was the least of his worries. He found his bouts of nausea rapidly getting worse over the coming days, unless he drank copious amounts of the ginger tea. Rex knew that college entrance exams were coming up and that he should study, but to hell with that! He couldn’t be more thankful that his moms were so attentive that they coordinated their work shifts, making sure at least one of them was at home to attend to him. Ptera told him that if the stomach virus - or whatever he had - didn’t go away after today, she would take him to the doctor’s. _At least I don’t have to worry about finals anymore… Though I’m not looking forward to the college entrance exams._

Rex made sure to have plenty of ginger tea - and rest - before the ceremony a week later. He thanked himself for it when he woke up the morning of graduation, and managed to endure the walk there without throwing up. Domino High School was the kind of school where all students had to attend the graduation ceremony, and wouldn’t find out if they’ve graduated until the day of. Rex wasn’t too confident on how he did during the math test, and feared he could be retained just because of that class alone.

“To think… that I might fail because of integrals…” he mused as he spoke to Ptera over the phone. “I don’t want to stay behind while Weevil gets to go to college!”

“Sweetheart, you’ll be fine! And I thought you worked too hard to stay home?”

“Okay, okay… I’m already late. Love you, Mom.” Indeed, the ceremony had already started; Rex hung up his phone and took his spot in the back of the auditorium.

The principal stood at the podium, with the top 1% of the student body behind him. Naturally, Espa was there, chatting it up with Weevil right before the principal began to speak. _Hmph. What a nerd._

“And now, a word from our salutatorian, Weevil Underwood.”

 _Oh, man, his dad’s really going to let him have it._

So Rex said. But despite knowing what his father would do for not fulfilling his wishes, and despite the glares he received from the many students who didn’t like him, Weevil looked very composed. “I am humbled to be this graduating class’ salutatorian, and will be sure to represent Domino High School proudly out in the real world.”

“‘Underwood’ and ‘humbled’ don’t usually go together,” a boy from a different class whispered to his buddy. 

“Nor do ‘Underwood’ and ‘proud.’”

 _Yeah, but he’s going to have the last laugh when he’s your boss, and you’re the ones who have to get him coffee._ Rex made a face at the boys before turning his attention back to his boyfriend, listening intently to his speech, even though he didn’t understand half of it.

 _Now it’s_ my _turn,_ Amber thought as the principal allowed her to begin her valedictorian speech.

“Whoaaaah! So the man-eater is our valedictorian?” a boy exclaimed. Because Amber had so many male fans in the senior class, it took a while for them to quiet down. Not even a loud “silence!” from the principal could quell them. 

“Boys, boys…” When Amber began to speak, there was finally silence in the auditorium. “You don’t want to be here all night… Or _do you?_ ”

“Ahem.” The principal implied that Amber had gone too far.

“Right, right…”

 _Say, her manner of speech sounds different today…_ Rex understood even less of Amber’s speech than he did Weevil’s. But he noticed that she pronounced a few words in an accent he never heard before, and used terms he had never heard, like “loo” and “go out on holiday.” He surmised she was of foreign descent. _She’s probably studied abroad, too… Then she’s also super rich._

“And now, the minute you’ve all been waiting for!” The principal sounded cheerful this time. “The distribution of the diplomas!”

Some students who knew for sure that they wouldn’t graduate kicked back and watched the remainder of the ceremony with little interest. Others began praying to whatever gods they believed in, hoping that they would barely squeak by.

Rex was definitely in the latter group. “Come on… I didn’t study so hard this past month just to be held back like a loser!”

Noticing Rex’s distress from how far away he was, Weevil winked at his boyfriend. _Don’t worry, hun,_ he thought as he saw the name on the diploma the principal now held in his hand.

“Rex Raptor!” the principal called.

“Whoa! Raptor actually managed to graduate?” whispered a girl nearby.

“I guess pigs really _can_ fly. Haha!” replied her friend.

The person in question, however, just stood there in awe - that was until the principal called again, “Is there a Rex Raptor present?”

“Y-Yes, this is he!” Rex spoke while nearly stumbling out his chair. He ignored the giggling (mainly from the girls) and looked instead to his diploma - and his boyfriend not standing far from it. _I… I can’t believe it… I thought this day would never come! I’m… gonna… huh?_

Rex felt nothing but pure elation at his achievement, until nausea struck him so hard that he passed out right on the graduation stage. 


	10. For Real?

Chapter 10 - For Real?

~06 June 2005, mid-morning~ 

“Goddammit, Wheeler, Red-Eyes is mine!” Rex spoke in his sleep. He had no idea where he actually was; for all he knew, he  _ was _ in San Francisco again, dueling Joey Wheeler in a battle for their souls. He vigorously swiped at the air, hoping that his former ace card would somehow come back to him. 

The next voice he heard would erase all of his doubts. “What gives, dino brain?” spoke Weevil. “We’re in a hospital - and no, that doesn’t mean we’re at a taco stand.”

“What are you on about, Weevil?” That voice sounded like Amber’s. “Is that supposed to be an inside joke?”

At last, Rex decided he had enough of the annoying squabbling, and fully awakened. “All right, guys. If you want my attention, well now you have it. Hmm?” Rex looked to his right, and noticed that a giant I.V. line flowed into his right arm. Right next to it were several vital monitors, and the sound of his EKG lingered awkwardly in the air before he said anything. “Whoa! What happened to me? Does it have anything to do with the nausea?”

“Y-Yeah…” Rex could tell from Weevil’s voice that he knew the full story - and already, it didn’t sound good. “After you passed out on the graduation stage, you got this really awful fever, and the principal called for an ambulance. Not only did you throw up multiple times on the ambulance ride, but also while the doctors were treating you.”

“All while you were unconscious, if I might add,” Amber added. “You got so dehydrated that the doctors had to give you fluids, nutrients, and strong antiemetics through I.V.”

“Oh, shit… Well, someone’s gotta let Mom and Mama know! You  _ did _ call them too, right?”

“...” Weevil and Amber both said nothing as the doctor and a few nurses came in.

“Hey, Doc! What happened? Am… Am I gonna die?”

“Mr. Raptor…”

“I  _ am _ gonna die, aren’t I?” Rex shrieked as the nurses tried to calm him down. “Aaaaah! Tell Mom and Mama that I love them very much! A-And Weeves, you get my deck-”

“Mr. Raptor, please calm down. You’re going to be fine.” These words from the doctor finally got Rex to calm down. “However, you will need to spend about two months in this hospital because of… what happened.”

“And what is this ‘thing’ that happened? Do tell.”

As professional as this doctor was, he found it hard to break the news of Rex’s condition to him. “You don’t seem to have a medical history, so we did find it odd that you developed a severe illness out of nowhere. We performed an ultrasound and a few blood tests on you, and we can conclude that you don’t have a stomach virus or other pathogen in you. But… uh...”

“Aww, come on!” Rex’s mood lightened significantly when he found out he would live. Still, he didn’t like how the doctor seemed hesitant to tell him what was going on. “You’re acting like a doctor about to tell a woman she’s pregnant! Haha, you really had me there for a…”

Rex stopped laughing when he noticed the serious look on the doctor’s face. “No… No way… For real? Are you trying to tell me that I’m  _ actually pregnant? _ Me, a  _ dude?! _ ”

“Yes, Mr. Raptor. The ultrasound not only revealed that you have both reproductive systems, but also that you are carrying a child. You’re ten weeks along, to be precise.” 

The doctor gave Rex a few black-and-white photos. Sure enough, when Rex squinted at them, he could see what looked to be a form of life, complete with tiny little limbs and a head. “Are… you… serious…” Rex looked to the man who was obviously the father of his child. “Did  _ you _ know about this, Weeves?”

“No, I swear I didn’t!”

“I just hope Mom and Mama never find out.”

“Funny you say that, because I called your parents as soon as I called the ambulance,” Amber cut in. “You can guess at how panicky they were.”

“This… can’t be happening…” Rex receded even further into his hospital bed. He cursed Mai to hell and back again for being indirectly responsible for his unnecessary suffering the past couple of weeks. And he had just graduated high school; he knew he didn’t have the financial nor emotional means to go through a pregnancy and raise a child. No way would Ptera and Tricera agree to having yet another mouth to feed. Not to mention the excruciating process of childbirth itself… Being slashed to ribbons by Joey’s Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword would definitely pale in comparison.

Weevil allowed a few more seconds of silence to pass before interrupting Rex’s whirlwind of thoughts with, “...You’re mad, aren’t you?”

Weevil sounded so pathetic that any frustration Rex had faded almost instantly. “Why would I be mad at something that isn’t your fault? I mean, even though it technically is… Ah, forget it.”

“So does that mean you want to keep the baby?”

Rex took a deep breath and stared at Weevil sincerely. He figured that as long as he had his boyfriend by his side, he could endure anything, and wanted to give the life growing inside him a chance. “Yes.”

“In that case, you’re going to need intensive care,” spoke the doctor. “You are suffering hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness that causes severe dehydration and weight loss. That’s why we need you to stay hospitalized until about the start of your second trimester, which is when morning sickness normally stops on its own. However, since you do not have a vulva, it cannot be determined at this time how labour will happen. If push comes to shove, you may need a C-section.”

“A C-section, eh? Then I guess I’ll be fine. Sounds much less painful than squeezing out a tiny human being through an even tinier hole, that’s for sure.”

“Then… by your leave.”

And with that, the doctors and nurses left the room, leaving Amber, Rex, and Weevil by themselves.

“So the takoyaki cravings weren’t for nothing…” Rex slowly lifted his free arm.

“I… I…” Weevil had no words as he approached his boyfriend. It still hadn’t sunk in that he was going to be a father - at his age! He stared at Rex’s belly as he reached out with a shaky hand to touch it.

“Weeves…” Rex laced his fingers with Weevil’s and placed their hands on his belly. “I can’t believe it either. I’m carrying our child.”

“I’m… going to be a dad…” Weevil spoke to the unborn child underneath. “ _ Your _ dad. I hope you don’t mind having a well-hated duelist as your father.”

“Our kid’s going to have  _ me _ as a mom! That’s more than enough to compensate for certain bug boys that shall remain nameless.”

“Oh, can it, dino brain.” Weevil would have given Rex a traditional head-bop if the dinosaur duelist wasn’t currently hospital-bound.

All of a sudden, Amber began to feel sad. “That’s… That’s cute. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Rex’s smile faded when he noticed Amber’s sorrowful expression. “Amber? Are you okay?”

“I… think I should leave you two lovebirds alone.” With that, Amber made way for the door, and left boyfriends alone. 

“Is she… okay?” Rex blinked at the door. “She sounded jealous, if you ask me.”

“You’re reading too much into it.”

Rex and Weevil wouldn’t stay alone for much longer, because nearly as soon as Amber left the hospital room, Ptera and Tricera came in.

“Oh… Hi, Mom.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop with the ‘Hi, Mom?’” Ptera didn’t even sound angry, just worried, as she and Tricera hugged their son while crying. “Oh, my sweet, sweet child…”

When his parents finally stopped crying, Rex spoke, “Speaking of children, there’s something I have to tell you guys. Mom… Mama… I’m pregnant, and Weevil is the father.”

“You… are?” Ptera sounded surprised, which Rex expected.

“Yup. Apparently, I’ve got a womb I didn’t even know about. In fewer than 7 months, you’re going to be a grandma.”

“Oh, I knew that you have both reproductive systems… I’m just surprised you can actually get pregnant.”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You see, I remember my 20-week ultrasound very well. The doctor told me back then, but assured me that you would only be capable of producing sperm. ...What a quack  _ he _ was.”

Tricera already knew what Rex wanted to say, and stopped him. “No, Rex, we’re not mad at you. We’re going to help you raise that baby, just like your mom and I started raising you almost 19 years ago.”

“I’m actually really excited that I’m going to be a grandma,” Ptera cooed. “And to think, you’ll be drinking the same tea that helped me through my own morning sickness.”

Before Rex could make a comment on how adorable he thought that was, he noticed a weird man with shaggy brown hair and beard staring at them through the crack in the door. “Huh? What do  _ you _ want, you creep?”

Ptera immediately shut and locked the door without getting a good look at the mystery man. “Pardon me, I forgot to lock the door. And don’t worry about that guy; I’m sure security will drag his sorry ass out of here.”

“We’ve got more important things to worry about,” Weevil spoke up while holding both of Rex’s hands. “Rex, honey, I’m going to help take care of the both of you, no matter what my father says.”


	11. Strengthening My Deck

Chapter 11 - Strengthening My Deck

-06 August 2005~

Rex’s eyes fluttered open after his first good night of sleep in several weeks. If he didn’t hear a knock on the door just then, those eyes would have fluttered right closed. “Ugh, go away and leave a man to sleep.”

“Apologies, Mr. Raptor,” began the doctor. “I just wanted to check on you.”

“So did I.” Weevil entered soon after.

“Weeves!” Even with the doctor about to begin a mini-physical, Rex shot up and gave his boyfriend a tight hug. “I missed you, baby!”

“I’ve only been gone a few hours, and you miss me already? Ah, what would you do without me?” Weevil allowed the doctor to perform the mini-physical, and making sure to stay out of the way, he placed a hand on Rex’s now-obvious baby bump. “Speaking of babies, how is our love bug doing?”

“The little rascal’s growing so fast. It’s only a matter of time before I’m going to need maternity clothes.” Indeed, Rex was only about 18 weeks pregnant, but was showing very well already, thanks to his scrawny stature. “Hey, Doc, is it normal for me to look this fat already?”

“Everyone is different,” the doctor replied. “Some super athletes don’t show until their third trimester. Others can show as soon as 14 weeks. Either way, it’s not something to be ashamed of, unless you want to hold off the surprise a bit longer.”

“Er…” Rex had just thought of the “Dweeb Patrol,” plus the many duelists from his Battle City days who might laugh at him, especially as he was now. And his jock friends would have a field day if they found out. “I mean…”

“Don’t worry about Joey and the others,” Weevil assured. “It’s not like we see them often anymore, what with a new semester of college about to start.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Say, Doc, can I leave this joint soon? I want to start studying so I can get into the same college as Weeves. The new semester starts in only three weeks, after all. And the actual exam is starting in a week. I mean, I’ve been studying, but it would be nice to do it in the comfort of my own home for once.”

“As a matter of fact, you’re good to go now.” The doctor’s words came as a surprise to Rex’s ears. “You haven’t had morning sickness in two weeks, which is very fortunate, considering many sufferers of HG have it until well until their third trimester. And your vitals look excellent.”

“R-Really?” Rex practically jumped out of bed. “Yippee! Sweet freedooooom!”

“Spoken like a true mother-to-be.” Weevil couldn’t help but laugh. “That doesn’t mean you can act all tra-la-la, though!”

“Indeed. Now, Mr. Raptor, be sure you don’t push yourself too hard - physically or mentally. Too much stress of either could push you into an early delivery.”

“Roger that, Captain.” Rex saluted his doctor before leaving his room.

“Sometimes, I wish  _ I _ were the pregnant one,” Weevil muttered. “I know I’d be a lot more careful than a certain reckless dino duelist I know.”

“If you think you can do any better, then you’re more than welcome to trade places with me. Phew…” Rex could finally walk on his own again after two months of hospitalization. While holding Weevil’s hand, he now walked out of the hospital, greeted by the sunlight. He enjoyed getting a taste of the real outside world again, instead of being surrounded by white walls, doctors, and foul chemical odours. “It feels nice to have not thrown up once this week.”

“I can’t even imagine.” Weevil frowned, feeling a bit bad for mocking Rex earlier.

Rex caressed his baby bump. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, you know that? When you grow up, you better be grateful.” Despite what he said, the presence of this new occupant in his body calmed him, and he spoke with a smile.

“So, Rex… How are  _ you _ feeling?” Weevil placed a hand on Rex’s forehead; he felt a little hot, but not as much as he did a couple of months back.

“Great! Except…” Rex had felt a slow ache in his chest on his entire walk out of the hospital; he now had man boobs, and hadn’t noticed them until just now. “This whole pregnancy thing is still so surreal. It’s hard to imagine that five months from now, I’ll be breastfeeding our child.”

Weevil enjoyed the time they had together, smiling at Rex’s baby bump while the bug duelist stroked it. Then he broke the silence with, “Now that you’re out, what do you want to do?”

“Let’s see… Before we go shopping for maternity clothes and the shit-ton of other things I’ll need, how about we duel?”

“No. Absolutely not.” Weevil held up a hand to slap Rex, and barely held it back. “You’re going to study for your college entrance exams so we can go to the same college together. And I don’t want you to risk a miscarriage.”

“But Weeves, I studied like the trooper I am, even while I  _ was _ in the hospital!” Rex flexed his arms. “You did see, didn’t you?”

“But… Considering how you barely graduated-”

“Weeves.” Rex placed both hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders. “I am going to die of boredom if I don’t duel every now and then.”

“Well, good luck trying to find someone who wants to duel you, because it certainly won’t be me.” Weevil put his foot down.

“Humph. Some fun  _ you _ are, bug boy.”

“Did someone say ‘duel?’” spoke a man’s voice from the hospital entrance.

“Waaaah!” Rex nearly doubled over. “Don’t scare me like that, you turd- Wait, I remember you. You’re that creep that was spying on me from my hospital room two months ago.”

The mystery man completely ignored Rex and revealed his Duel Disk. “If you’re looking for a challenger, you’ve got one.”

Then, just like that, Rex had put aside how this man weirded him out, and readied his own Duel Disk. “It’s a good thing that Weeves and I were strengthening our decks when I was hospitalized, or else I probably wouldn’t have this on me.”

“Are you out of your damned mind, Rex?” Weevil tried to stop his boyfriend, and might have been able to, had Amber not appeared out of the blue.

“No, I think he’ll be fine,” Amber spoke with her own Duel Disk at the ready. “While the pain inflicted by direct attacks feels real and immense, keep in mind that it’s all illusion. It shouldn’t pose a threat to him.”

“Who asked  _ you? _ ” Weevil snarled. “And anyway, where the hell were you these past two months?”

“...Strengthening my deck,” Amber replied tersely.

“Aaaargh!” Weevil angrily activated his Duel Disk. “You know what, dino brain, go ahead. Duel if you want. But I’m tag teaming with you to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“So, I guess that means I’m tag teaming with  _ this _ pretty lady here?” asked the mystery man.

“Can it, you toad.” Amber then looked to her opponents. “Duel standby!”

“Ladies first,” Weevil said to Amber.

“Don’t underestimate me, bug boy. I set a monster and another card, then end my turn.”

Weevil drew his first card. “I summon Armored Bee in attack mode, and set a card!”

“What, that’s it?” asked the mystery man. “Too bad, because I set this pretty cool trap. Then I summon two Gilasaurus and a Jurrac Velo in attack mode.”

“Whoa!” Rex exclaimed. “Another dino duelist! Well, I’ll show you that I’m the best dino duelist in this city!”

“So draw your card then, dino brain.” Weevil rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, whatever. I summon Giant Rex in attack mode, play the spell Jurassic World, then set a card. Go ahead, hot stuff.”

“Oh, I’ll show you who’s hot stuff…” Amber grumbled. “I activate my spell card Eradicating Aerosol! That gets rid of all insects on the field, which includes my set monster, Pinch Hopper!”

“I’m still better at using insects than you, punk,” Weevil snarled as he was now open to a direct attack.

“Really? Then how do you plan to stop  _ this? _ Thanks to Pinch Hopper’s effect, I can Special Summon any insect from my hand… Say hello to the gorgeous, magnificent Insect Princess!”

“‘Insect Princess?’” Weevil had never heard of this card before, but it certainly looked familiar. “Huh. Well, I’ve got the Queen, and once I can summon her, your Princess will be done for!”

“Is that what you think? Insect Princess! Prove this worm boy wrong!”

“Hehehe, she’s going to have to wait! I activate Enemy Controller to force your Insect Princess into defense mode!”

“Heh, nothing I can’t handle. I set a card, then end my turn.”

_ Okay!  _ Weevil smirked when he drew his Metamorphosed Insect Queen. The only other two cards in his hand, however, were Naturia Butterfly and another Armored Bee.  _ All I need is Pinch Hopper, and I can summon my Queen! I should probably do something about those monsters the weird man has… _ “I activate Armored Bee’s special ability to cut the attack of one of the Gilasaurus in half! Now, Armored Bee, give that Gilasaurus a good sting!”

“Oof…” The mystery man took 900 points of damage. “Not bad, not bad… But my other Gilasaurus is still fine! I use it to attack your Armored Bee!”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Rex cut in and revealed his face-down card. “My trap Dimensional Prison… well, traps your Gilasaurus in a dimensional prison!”

“Hahahaha…” 

“What, was my joke actually that funny?”

“Yeah. Believe that if you want to. Jurrac Velo, stomp that Bee!”

_ Crap…  _ Weevil gulped. I’m _ the one who’s supposed to be protecting Rex, and yet I’m open to attack. Again. _

Rex drew Polymerization; he now only needed a Gilasaurus to summon Horned Saurus.  _ That Jurrac Velo is going to be a problem… But my Giant Rex has the same attack. I think I should kamikaze it. _ “I summon another Giant Rex, and use one of them to destroy your Jurrac Velo!”

“Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are we?” the mystery man snickered. “When my Jurrac Velo is destroyed, I can Special Summon a Jurrac monster from my deck! And I chose Jurrac Gallim!”

“I’m sharper than you think! I have that card, and I know what it does!”

“Yup, you’re so sharp that you told your opponent what cards you have in your deck,” Weevil sighed.

“Shut up, bug boy! At least I have monsters to protect me!” Rex shot back. 

“Uh… Do you guys always bicker like this?” Amber looked at her opponents cock-eyed.

“No!” Both young men replied simultaneously.

“This is going to break up the tea party… Insect Princess, attack Weevil directly!” 

“Owwwww!” Weevil fell to his knees.  _ ‘An illusion,’ my ass! ...Okay, I didn’t draw a Pinch Hopper, but at least I can stall for time with my Naturia Butterfly. _ “I summon Naturia Butterfly in defense-”

“Ohoho, I don’t think so,” Amber interrupted. “Thanks to Insect Princess’ special ability, your insect monster is forced into attack mode!”

“I… end my turn…” 

“Yup, you’re boned.” Rex bit his lip. “A monster with 500 ATK isn’t going to help.”

“Shaddup! I can still activate my Butterfly’s special ability!”

“There they go again,” the mystery man laughed. “I play Double Summon so that I can summon another Gilasaurus! Then I tribute it and my Jurrac Gallim to summon the king of my dinosaur deck… Jurrac Tyrannus!”

“Wow!!” Despite the tight spot both he and Weevil were in, Rex admired this enormous monster. “Where did you get it? I want it bad!”

“Maybe I’ll let you have it if you beat me. Emphasis on ‘maybe.’ Why don’t I show you just what it can do? Once per turn, I can tribute a dinosaur to my Tyrannus so he gains 500 attack points! And I tribute my last Gilasaurus! Prepare to say goodbye, Weevil!”

“S-So? I can still negate your attack with Naturia Butterfly!”

“But wait! There’s more! I activate my trap Survival Instinct! This allows me to banish any number of dinos from my Graveyard and gain 400 Life Points for each! Since I have five, that’s 2000 Life Points I gain! But my dinos won’t be banished for long. I shuffle them all back into my deck so I can summon the second strongest monster in my deck… Come on out, Overtex Qoatlus!”

“Oh no…” Even with Naturia Butterfly’s effect, Weevil knew that he was done for. 

“Go, my dinos! Stomp that puny butterfly and wipe out the rest of Weevil’s Life Points!”

“Hah…” Weevil looked up at Rex from a kneeling position. “Sorry, hun, they got me.”

Amber cut in, “You know, Rex, there’s nothing in your deck that can stand up to a Jurrac Tyrannus. I’ll be a sweetheart and let you yield now, if you want.”

“Never! The runner-up at regionals doesn’t yield!” Rex would soon regret this decision, however, as during his next turn, he didn’t summon anything meaningful, and the mystery man’s mighty monsters stomped him flat. “Well, that… um… was quite the challenge.”

As soon as the duel ended, Weevil ran up to Rex, and touched his baby bump. “Rex! Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Rex stretched a bit before fully standing up and approaching the mystery man. “I really would love to learn more about your playing style! Especially since I have never met another dinosaur duelist before! Dude, what’s your name?”

“The name’s Dr. Saurus. I’m actually a professor at Domino City University.”

“Hey, did you hear that, Weeves?” Rex turned to his boyfriend. “If I make it into your college, then I might have this guy as my teacher!”

“So  _ now _ do you have incentive to study, dino brain?”

“You bet! But I also have to ask… Is there a special reason that the two of you wanted to duel us? And a tag duel, no less?”

“...” Amber stayed silent for a bit before she replied, “Dr. Saurus and I have always been big fans of yours ever since your glory days from regionals.”

“What? I didn’t know we still had fans!” Weevil exclaimed.

“That explains why you wanted to follow me around when we were still in high school.”

“Yup! Though I think Weevil is way smarter than you, which is why I chose to use an insect deck. I think it’s a sophisticated type that only the best of the best can appreciate.”

“Hahaha!” Weevil stuck his tongue out at Rex, who pouted in response.

“So now that we have a common bond through dueling, why don’t we go for a stroll?” Dr. Saurus proposed. 

“Yes, please,” Rex answered as the four began their walk. “Dr. Saurus, please teach me all of your-”

The dino duelist stopped in his tracks when he noticed a whiff of what he thought was a Red-Eyes Black Dragon fly past.

“Rex? Is something the matter, hun?”

“No, I… Either my pregnancy is causing me to hallucinate, or someone’s Duel Disk visuals are malfunctioning.”

“I highly doubt it’s the latter.” Weevil took Rex’s hand into his own. “Come, let’s go.”


	12. Parental Lecture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: A gay slur in about the middle point of the chapter

Chapter 12 - Parental Lecture

“We sure have been finding ourselves here a lot, haven’t we?” Rex spoke as he sipped on decaf coffee.

“Should you even be drinking that, dino brain?”

“What do you mean?” Dr. Saurus asked.

_ That’s none of your- _ Rex wouldn’t have to complete his thought, as after taking a glance around the busy café, he noticed Espa Roba, about to take a seat at a two-person table.  _ Oh, perfect… Just the person I wanted to see. Maybe if I duck and hide, the creepy fake psychic man will go away. _

To Rex’s dismay, that was not to be, as Espa decided to stop to talk to Rex on his way to his table. “Hey, Rex, fancy meeting you here. It’s been what, two months? Where the heck have you been?”

“Eheheheh…” Rex didn’t want his first day of “freedom” to begin with talking with one of his least favourite people in Domino City. 

“Hey, hey, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just worried about you, that’s all. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I respect your privacy. Congratulations on graduating, by the way. You really made me eat my words.”

“Oh?” Rex certainly didn’t think Espa would be so nice to him. After beating him handily at Battle City and taking his Serpent Night Dragon, he thought the faux psychic would have nothing to do with him. He wasn’t sure how to respond to such unexpected friendliness.

Weevil, however, knew that Rex wasn’t ready to get all palsy-walsy with Espa yet, especially with the dino duelist’s pregnancy being a factor. “Thank you for showing common courtesy. Just what I’d expect from my fellow high-ranking graduate.”

“If it isn’t Weevil Underwood.” Espa smiled at the sight of his fellow intellectual. “Sorry that you couldn’t take the top spot, even though you worked hard. My condolences.”

“...” Amber stared daggers at Espa as a warning not to talk to her, which thankfully, Espa respected. 

“Hmm?” Weevil noticed that Espa didn’t have his usual book with him, which he was fond of reading whenever he visited the café by himself. He wouldn’t say he was the best of friends with Espa, but he did recall their many study sessions together at either the school library or the café. “So you’re not going to be here for long, then.”

“Y-Yes, well…” 

Before Espa could make a proper reply to that, a much-deeper voice sounded from the café entrance. “Hey, Espa. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for long.”

“Yipe!” Espa jolted at the sight of Mako Tsunami. As much as he wanted to see him, the last thing he wanted was for his date to turn into a group gathering. “I’ll catch you later at university, Rex. That is, if your stroke of luck can take you there.”

“Oh?” Rex, as oblivious as he was, couldn’t understand why Espa’s tone of voice and demeanour did a complete 180º. “You’re more than welcome to stay with us a bit longer if you li-”

Amber lightly stomped on Rex’s foot under the table.

“Ow!” That foot stomp reminded Rex all too well of when Weevil did the same to him at Doma’s headquarters years ago. “What was that for?”

“If your thick skull didn’t get it, those two are on a date. As in, you ought to keep your thoughts to yourself.”

“Them two…?” Rex wouldn’t have thought that a pair, who as far as he was concerned knew each other through only a single duel, would be this interested in each other. But now that he saw them happily chatting at a two-person table over coffee and scones, he thought that maybe they  _ did _ look cute together.

“Who are they?” Dr. Saurus wanted to know.

“Oh, um…” Rex didn’t feel at liberty to discuss his mishaps at Battle City, and Espa’s direct responsibilities for said mishaps. “Just a couple of guys Weevil and I have dueled in some tournaments.”

Thankfully, Rex wouldn’t need to explain further, as all of a sudden, “Dweeb Patrol” all came in at once.

“Ugh, you just jinxed it,” Amber whined.

“Hey, the pretty lady’s back!”

Duke chuckled, that was until Joey stepped on his foot. “Don’t you ever learn?” Joey talked to Amber more amiably. “I’m sorry, Amber. Please don’t leave.”

“...” Amber looked away from this group that joined her.

“Long time, no see.”

Rex couldn’t look at Mai when she spoke to him, not after remembering what her last words to him were. “Y-Yeah.”

“I haven’t been seeing you around lately,” Joey noted. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, uh…” Rex wasn’t ready to let his “friends” know about his…  _ condition. _ “You know, just dueling!”

“Very quietly, apparently,” spoke Tristan. “There was a tournament just last month in Domino City. I was surprised that neither you nor Weevil entered. Even though Amber won it fairly easily.”

“Hah, hah, hah…”

Joey could tell that Rex was running out of excuses. “Rex, you can tell us. What is the  _ real _ reason you were AWOL?”

Luckily - or rather, not so luckily - an extremely angry phone call from Ptera would answer that question. “Rex Leonidas Raptor! Where are you, young man?”

“I’m just at the café with friends. What’s the big deal?”

Ptera’s voice was so loud that everyone at the table could hear her, even without speaker. “ _ Dios mío _ , Rex, you’re pregnant! You need to rest! Come back here right now!”

“Sigh… Yes, Mom.”

When Rex hung up his phone, an awkward silence lingered in the air. Joey was the first one to break that silence. “What on Earth was  _ that  _ about?”

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.” Rex arose from the table slowly and showed everyone his baby bump.

“It can’t be… But how?” Tristan asked.

“Hmm, how can I simplify it for you dweebs? I had sex with  _ this guy _ ,” Rex pointed to Weevil, “and thanks to the fact that I magically have a uterus, I am now four months pregnant. And if you’re wondering where I was, I was puking my guts out so badly that I had to be in the hospital for the past two months.”

“I’m sorry, Rex…” Mai apologized. “It’s all my fault. If I didn’t give you that sex advice, you wouldn’t be this way.”

“Oh no, don’t worry your pretty head about it.” Rex patted his baby bump. “Truth be told, I can’t wait to be a fa- er, mother. Or whatever you want to call me.”

“And I’m sure you can’t wait to face your Mom’s wrath,” Weevil spoke as he checked the notification on his phone; it was a text from Roach. “I know I can’t wait to talk to Father when I get home.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye for now,” spoke Joey as Rex and Weevil laid some money on the table. “Let me know when your baby shower is so I can get your bundle of joy a little something.”

“Y-You got it, man…” Despite how angry they knew their parents would be, Rex refused to let go of Weevil’s hand. “A baby shower, huh? We’ve got a lot more to plan for than I thought. It’s very thoughtful of Joey to do that for us, all things considered.”

“Hmm.” Weevil knitted his eyebrows. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to trust the “Dweeb Patrol” yet - not helped, of course, by the fact he was an introvert. “Rex? What’s wrong?”

“Uh…” Rex shook as he stared at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon that suddenly appeared before him. Only this time, he was certain Weevil saw it too. “I don’t think it’s a hallucination this time!”

Though Rex wasn’t very far into his pregnancy, Weevil’s fatherly instincts kicked in. “Hey, leave my boyfriend alone!”

“Oh, ho, ho!” the Red-Eyes Black Dragon spoke. “What have we here? You’re Weevil Underwood, aren’t you? One of the smartest people in Domino City, yes?”

“Whoa! It talks!” Rex exclaimed. 

“How kind of you to acknowledge me,” Weevil snarled, taking a protective stance in front of Rex. “I’ll be kind in return - by kindly asking you to get the hell out of my sight.”

“But I thought you liked to duel?” The Red-Eyes Black Dragon gestured his head to the side; to his left a Gilford the Lightning appeared, and to his right, a Flame Swordsman. “And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the first one to get booted out of Duelist Kingdom would have a reputation to regain.”

“So you guys are real visions that can talk,” Weevil scoffed. “And ones with smart mouths, at that. Wonderful. KaibaCorp technology impresses me every day.”

“Psst. Weeves.” Rex whispered into Weevil’s ear. “We don’t have our Duel Disks. You don’t honestly want to shift in front of all these people, do you?”

It just dawned upon Weevil that, indeed, Rex was correct. Though he and Rex had used their shapeshifting powers for mischief in the past (and halfshifted whenever they had sex), Weevil had only ever killed one person. That was Yami Marik, all the way back in an ancient Egyptian war, which he wound up fighting in because Rex’s curiosity led them to time travelling with Atem et al. There, the bug duelist had discovered that he was in fact Earthbound God Uru, a spider god with untold powers of destruction. But he had returned to his home in Domino City, a city filled with a few bad apples, but a city that was a generally nice place to live in. Until now, Weevil had all but forgotten that time. But now that he remembered, he knew there was no place for his abilities here. He feared what could happen if the ancient god in him were to resurface when confronted with an enemy, even if said enemy were a hologram.

“Hmm?” Red-Eyes Black Dragon eyed Weevil curiously. “Cat got your tongue, hmm? Well, this dragon’s about to get your tongue, too - and then some!”

“Hey, what’s going on?” spoke Joey, who arrived at the scene with the others behind him, save for Amber and Dr. Saurus. “Whoa! So somebody besides me has Red-Eyes Black Dragon and a Gilford the Lightning besides me. It’s a good thing that like any good duelist, I’m carrying around my Duel Disk.”

“And you know I wouldn’t dare forget mine.” Yugi presented his own Duel Disk.

“Just what are you two implying?” Rex put his hands on his hips, but then he just remembered his own shapeshifting abilities. Sure, Creepy Coney wasn’t an especially strong monster, but he recently learned that the act of transforming had some…  _ strange _ effects on his enemies. And unlike Weevil, Rex was immensely proud to be a shapeshifter. So proud, in fact, that when he wasn’t studying for high school finals, he experimented with his powers, compensating for his seemingly pathetic animal form. “Well, no matter. I don’t need my Duel Disk for this fight. I’m a weapon unto myself, you know.”

“Then this is the time to prove yourself, hotshot!” Joey dared as both he and Yugi activated their Duel Disks. 

“Rex, you brazen fool…” Weevil held Rex back. “No. You’ve already made one stupid choice today. Please, for your sake and the sake of our baby, you need to sit this one out!”

“Hmph.” Rex reluctantly stepped back. “Fine.”

“Tch!” Red-Eyes Black Dragon clearly didn’t like this turn of events. He whispered to Gilford the Lightning, “Listen. We only want Weevil, alive and unharmed. Do whatever it takes to capture him.”

“You got it, boss!”

No sooner had Gilford the Lighting brought his sword down when Joey’s own Gilford the Lightning blocked the attack. “You know what they say! Fight fire with fire. Or in this case, lightning with lightning.”

“ _ I’m _ the one fighting fire with fire, it seems!” Yugi summoned his Dark Magician Girl to block Flame Swordsman.

“So, that just leaves you and me.” Red-Eyes Black Dragon ignored the scuffles his underlings started. “Since you don’t have a Duel Disk, how ever will you fight me, I wonder? How do you plan to protect the mother of your child?”

“I… I…” Now Weevil was at a crossroads. As scared as he was to try out his powers again, he didn’t want any harm to come to his boyfriend - or to his unborn child. “If… If it’s the only way, then…”

“Good! Let the hate flow through you!”

“The only thing that will be flowing through  _ you _ is a Cyber Energy Shock!” Espa shouted from the distance.

“Urk…!” Red-Eyes Black Dragon could feel the full force of Jinzo’s signature move.

“With a touch of a Baleen Bombardment!” Mako entered the battle with his Fortress Whale.

“Two against one…? That’s… not… fair…” And with that, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon faded into nothingness.

“I think a little teamwork is fair.” Espa looked upon the shadows of his enemy with pride. “I’m past the whole cheating thing now.”

“No wonder you beat me handily in that one duel.” Mako was clearly impressed - not only with Joey’s and Yugi’s prowess, but also with Espa’s.

“Hehehe…” Espa would have loved to chat with Mako longer if he didn’t notice Weevil in obvious distress. “Weevil? You all right, man?”

Even with other people surrounding him, Weevil still shook, and fell to his knees while hugging himself. “Not… again…”

“Weeves?” Rex ran up to his boyfriend, from whom he could sense a panic attack coming on. It took a lot of his willpower not to panic himself. “What’s wrong?”

“I… don’t want to go back…” Weevil couldn’t believe how close he had come to transforming. The image of Red-Eyes Black Dragon hovering over him, provoking him to attack, reminded him all too well of his train duel with Atem - the one with his soul on the line. He thought he had been doing so much better since that time and his travails at the KC Grand Tournament - hell, even Mokuba had acknowledge such. 

“Guys, I think Weevil has had a long day. We all need to go home. Now up you get, Weeves.” When everyone had exchanged their goodbyes, Rex tried to hug Weevil tightly, but his 18-week baby bump got in the way. “That hug was from our baby, if you couldn’t tell.”

With his unborn child practically squeezing him, Weevil started to feel loads better. “Rex… Thank you.” 

“Don’t thank me, thank our kid.” Rex sighed, hoping that when he got home, it wouldn’t be obvious that he was nearly in a fight. “I’m going to have to talk with Mokuba later about these awry real visions. But for now, I need to focus on getting home and at least  _ minimizing _ Mom’s wrath.”

“I hear ya… I’ll see you later, hun.” With that, Weevil gave Rex’s lips and baby bump a big kiss before making way for his family’s mansion. While Ptera read the Riot Act to her son, Weevil was about to receive his own parental lecture. He stalled for as long as he could get away with before actually walking in the direction of his house. He ignored the greetings of Adelaide and all the other maids and butlers, and headed straight for Roach’s office. “...Father.”

“...Son.” After noticing that Weevil wouldn’t sit down, Roach continued, “You have a lot of audacity to be heading to town so often when you couldn’t even earn the top spot at high school.”

“...” Weevil glared at his father. “I got attacked by some kid’s Duel Disk holograms. Sorry if me nearly getting killed was such an inconvenience to you.”

“Don’t talk to me like that! You have a lot to make up for! If you want me to accept you as my son, then you need to study so you can graduate from college magna cum laude!”

“...Who said that I wanted - or needed - your approval?” Weevil began to talk back for the first time.

“Excuse me?”

“All you ever do is treat me like I’m some perfect little plaything! At least Rex treats me like a human being. Actually, he treats me as more than that. He’s the one person I adore more than anything else in the world. And now that he bears my child, I have all the more reason to be with him.”

“What… did… you… just… say?”

“That’s right! Rex Raptor, that poor kid you hate so much, is pregnant with your grandchild!”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“What?”

“So you think you’re normal, huh? That you can marry another man and have kids with him like you’re not an abomination?”

“Father!”

Roach sharply arose from his seat. “Get out of my house right now, you faggot! You are no son of mine!”

“I’ve actually been waiting for this day for a long time.” Weevil smirked. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve already packed as much money and as many of my belongings as I could into one bag. So yeah, I’ll get out of your house right now,  _ Roach. _ ”

Before Roach could say, “stop this instant,” Weevil had already raced for his now-old room, and began wheeling his giant suitcase out of the house. Remembering what Rex went through after his regionals loss, Weevil could almost picture the rain coming down, even though it was a cloudless and sunny mid-day. He had made it about halfway to Rex’s house when he realized he was being followed. Knowing immediately who it was, Weevil stopped in his tracks. “Adelaide, you bloody fool. You didn’t have to run away too.”

“I couldn’t bear to work for that snake anymore.” Adelaide had only a small handbag with a few clothes, a cheap phone, her Duel Disk, and ¥10000. “But more than that, I couldn’t bear to see him torture you so, Master Weevil.”

“Adelaide…” Weevil’s voice shook. “You’ve already taught me how to duel, and have taken care of me when Roach would not… Honestly, you’re doing too much.”

“I’d say I’m not doing enough. Ever since I moved into the Underwood household, you’re the only one who’s treated me with kindness… The only one whom I could call a friend.”

“S-Stop!” Weevil had begun to cry, even as his trusted maid hugged him. “You’re making me all sappy!”

“There  _ is _ only one problem… Where will we go now?”

“I know just the place.”

* * *

Rex looked up at the door when he heard a knock on it, but did not get up from his comfy supine position on the living room couch. “Mom, can you get that? I’m too busy studying and being pregnant on the couch.”

“Oh, so  _ now _ you acknowledge you need rest.” Ptera’s smile dropped when she saw Weevil and Adelaide at her door. “Weevil!”

“Weevil? He’s here?”  _ Now _ Rex wanted to get up, and he urged his boyfriend in the house. “Baby, what are you doing here? And with a big-ass suitcase, no less?”

“I’m not on speaking terms with Roach anymore. If it wasn’t obvious already, I’ve run away from home. I want to live here with you.”

Tricera came to the living room to see what all the commotion was about. “Weevil, honey, you’re more than welcome to stay here. We’ll even get you a job at the restaurant, if you want.”

“Thank you. I’ll probably take you up on that offer.”

Adelaide was still very confused about the situation, and felt left out. “Master Weevil, I can take your suitcase to your new room, if you would like.”

“Oh? And who might you be?” Rex asked.

“This is my maid and friend, Adelaide Windsor,” Weevil answered. “Adelaide, this is my boyfriend, Rex Raptor, who is also the mother of my unborn child. These two amazing ladies are his parents, Ptera and Tricera Raptor.”

Adelaide stared at these strangers absentmindedly before speaking. “I-I’m sorry! It’s just, I’ve never met people like you before. But if you have been kind to Master Weevil all these years, then you’re friends of mine.”

“Huh.” This new resident of the Raptor household piqued Rex’s interest. “I don’t suppose you know how to duel?”

In response, Adelaide took out her Duel Disk, and for a split second her demeanour did a complete 180º. “Young man, I’ve been dueling for almost as long as you’ve been alive. In fact, it was I that taught Master Weevil how to duel.”

“Sweet! I’ll show you what my duelin’ dinos are made of!””

“The only thing you’ll be showing anyone is how smart you are.” Ptera put her son’s duelin arm down.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rex returned to the couch and opened his laptop - a fancy one he received as a birthday gift from Weevil last year.

After she had put Weevil’s suitcase in Rex’s room, and the bug duelist had sat down to watch T.V., Adelaide turned to Rex. “Master Rex, is there anything you would like me to cook for you?”

“Takoyaki with chocolate syrup!” Rex held a thumbs up without looking up.

“You got it!” Adelaide noticed the mountain of dishes in the kitchen sink. “If you like, Madame Ptera, I can wash those for you after we’re done with dinner.”

“You’re too kind!” Ptera lightly hit Adelaide on the shoulder. “Oh, and just call me ‘Ptera.’”

“But if you’re letting me stay here, the least I could do is serve you, just as I’ve served Master Weevil.”

“Would you like a job at our family restaurant too?” Tricera called all the way from the loo.

“Could I? That way, I can actually pay rent.” Adelaide interrupted Ptera before she could say anything. “I insist on it, just like I insist on how I address you.”

Weevil smiled as he took a seat next to Rex on the couch. “This… I could get used to this.” He let his hand linger on Rex’s baby bump. Even in ordinary circumstances, he felt blessed to now cohabitate with his boyfriend, but it was an especially welcome relief after what he endured under Roach’s iron fist. “Finally, I can have a real family life. And now, I can help take care of not only the man I love, but also my child.”


	13. 11 Years

Chapter 13 - 11 Years

~29 August 2005~

“Hum de dum…” Rex could not contain his happiness as Ptera drove Weevil and him to his first day of college. He had spent a good deal of that morning preening himself, and even wore his hair in a low ponytail for the occasion.

“I don’t know why you’re so proud of yourself,” Weevil thought aloud. Unlike his boyfriend, Weevil had been sleeping until about ten minutes ago. He was never the type to spend any significant time getting ready for something. He ate the breakfast that Ptera had cooked for everyone, hoping that his groggy head would go away soon. “Getting accepted via the waitlist isn’t exactly a great honour.”

“Ah, shaddap. I’m a student of Domino City University, and nothing’s gonna change that.”

Weevil yawned. “But did we have to get up so early? Our first class isn’t even until noon.”

“Yeah, but I heard there is a morning club fair going on. I wanted to check it out before class.”

Ptera parked the car into a spot; she had just barely beaten someone else, who flicked her off before driving for another spot. “Look at my little man, being such a proactive student already! Have a good first day, Rex! Don’t forget to call me if you need anything!”

Rex felt embarrassed as his mother kissed his cheek, and a few passing older students giggled watching them. “Mom, I’m not little anymore - in fact, I’m far from it. May I remind you I’m now so heavily pregnant that I’m wearing maternity clothes?” Rex gestured towards his baggy beige pants. He wore a black maternity shirt that said “Mamasaurus,” with a dinosaur on it that vaguely resembled Two-Headed King Rex.

Tears of joy formed at the corners of Ptera’s eyes. “You’re growing up too fast.”

“Okay, Mom, love you.” After a few more hugs and kisses, Rex and Weevil entered the grand courtyard, complete with a reflecting pond. As it was the first day of school - and on the day of a club fair, at that - the university had well over 20000 students this day. In the sea of wildly varying hair and skin colours, Rex recognized a few faces from his senior class. Naturally, they acted like the buffoons they were when they were still in high school. One even tried to take a dip in the reflecting pond before being chased out by a dean.

But other than that, most of the student body seemed dignified. He was pleasantly surprised to see that there weren’t just young adults in the student body, there were a few middle-aged and senior citizens too. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Amber suddenly coming at him with, “Hi, guys! So, you made it into university, Rex. Congratulations.”

“I’m not surprised that you made it too,” spoke Rex.

“Wiiiiith a full ride,” Amber practically sang.

“No need to rub it in. Again.”

“Plus, going to university is now free,” Weevil remarked. “Or have you not been watching the news lately?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. If you’re here for the club fair, it’s just past the student union, which is pretty far from here. Come.” Amber didn’t like how both boys seemed hesitant to talk to her. Then again, she expected it, since they hadn’t contacted each other since their café visit almost a month ago, and the tiring battle that soon followed it. “So, how are things?”

“I’ve finally said goodbye to that sack of shit I once called ‘Father,’” Weevil replied. “And the best part is, I never have to see him again! Adelaide and I live with Rex now. Oh, yeah, Adelaide is my friend who taught me how to duel.”

“I see. I suppose some congratulations are in order.”

“It makes me happy not only to get away from that toxic man, but also to see the growth of my child.”

“Ah…” For the first time, Amber had noticed Rex’s baby bump, and stopped to touch it. “How fortunate for you.”

“Amber?” Rex looked at the raven-haired girl quizzically. Her face had taken on a longing expression he had never seen before. “You’re acting weird.”

“S-Sorry!” Amber quickly retracted her hand and continued the walk to the student union. “It’s so rude to touch a pregnant person’s belly without permission. I… That was wrong of me.”

“Dude, it’s fine,” Rex laughed.

The trio enjoyed a few more seconds of silence before arriving at the bustling student union. The first thing Rex noticed a giant mobile with a mosaic-like pattern hanging from the ceiling. There were so many different restaurants that he feared he would get nauseous again - so he was surprised to find out he still felt fine.

Amber pointed to a group that approached her. “I’ll tell you what’s  _ not _ fine… These guys.”

“Hey, would you like to join Domino’s Finest Society?” spoke a red-haired man, who appeared to be the club’s president. He had a gaggle of other officers behind him in colourful, goofy garb.

“You sure sound full of yourselves,” Rex guffawed.

“Who asked you, ignoramus?” spoke the orange-haired vice president of the club, who put her hands at her hips. “We don’t need the opinion of the one who graduated at the bottom of Domino High School’s class.”

“Huh! Ignore him,” a green-haired young woman snorted. “Just his presence is befouling the room.”

“But you, on the other hand…” The purple-haired secretary placed his hand on Weevil’s shoulder. “We could use you. To think that the top two students of Domino High School would attend this esteemed university… How fortunate we are!”

“Beat it, ya freaks!” Amber snorted as she beckoned for Rex and Weevil to follow her. “Come on, you two, let’s not give them the time of day.”

“Uh… Okay.” As Rex turned to leave, he made sure to give the president a good grimace. “Amber, who are  _ they?  _ Besides people I would certainly like to smack upside the head right now.”

“They’re apparently a society of only the highest I.Q. individuals. Apparently, the founding president had an I.Q. of 300. A load of hogwash, that is. Even with my good grades, mine is only 150.”

“‘Only…’” Rex’s eyebrow twitched.

“So why didn’t you join them, then?” Weevil questioned.

“Because there’s this other club I’d much rather join instead. Let me show you!” With that, Amber led her friends past the Legalize Recreational Marijuana Club (Rex had to admit he was mildly interested in it) to a booth with various types of playing cards.

“Ta-dah! This is what I’ve been wanting to show you!”

Rex looked at the sign. “‘Domino Tabletop Gaming?’”

“If you like tabletop games, you’ve come to the right place!” The president lit up when he saw Rex. “We have traditional games, we have more modern ones… And you bet your bottom dollar we have Duel Monsters.”

“All right, I know which one I’m joining!” Amber picked up a pamphlet. 

“What is this?  _ The _ Amber of Domino High School has chosen  _ us _ over Domino’s Finest Society?” 

The president got so excited that he took Amber’s hands into his own, which she was quick to snatch away. “Don’t get any funky ideas, man.”

“Hehehe…” An approaching student temporarily distracted the president. “Well, hello there. Would you like to join Domino Tabletop Gaming?”

Rex wasn’t expecting to see Mako there. Unlike most of the members of the “Dweeb Patrol,” he found his presence to be just fine.“Oh! Mako Tsunami, I didn’ t know you were a student here. I thought you’d be off fishing in a new boat or something.”

“I decided to start taking classes here, hoping to be a marine biologist. While fishing as a side hustle, of course.”

“Then we’ll be schoolmates, then.” Weevil’s eyebrow twitched as he recalled his not-so-friendly, very brief encounter with Mako at Battle City. “Charmed. And we’ll be even more charmed to see you at the Tabletop Gaming Club.”

“Y-Yeah…” Mako scanned his surroundings, as if he were looking for someone. “Bummer. I thought that Espa was going to be here, but… I guess he won’t be joining the club after all.”

“It’s not like today’s a deadline to join a club,” the club president chuckled. “You can still tell your friend about it, and he can join if he’s interested.”

“Phew, thank goodness.”

“Why, did you have something you wanted to say to him?” Rex asked.

“I… um…” Mako began to act coy, very much unlike his usual proud demeanour. “I just wanted to apologize to him. I guess I’ll… um… just wait until the club meeting, then.”

“Hmm…” Rex raised an eyebrow as he watched Mako walk off. “I wonder if there’s something  _ interesting _ going on between those two.”

“Even if there was, it’s really none of our business.” Weevil decided to change the subject. “Anyway, Mr. President… Sir, as a president of a tabletop gaming club, you should know something. I saw some really awry real visions a few weeks ago. They attacked me, but there didn’t seem to be any duelists nearby.”

“Real visions gone bad, you say?” The president scratched his chin. “I can’t say that any of my club members have anything to do with it. That sounds like something you’d need to bring up with KaibaCorp. But if it makes you feel any better, we can talk about it at the meeting.”

“Would you really? Thank you; that means a lot.”

“Anyway, nice seeing you!” The president waved at the three as they left for the nearby dining hall to get brunch. “Our first meeting is tomorrow at 7pm! We hope to see you there.”

“Hmm…” Rex took a look at the pamphlet while he let Weevil pay for their food. “The second day of school is a bit soon for a club meeting, don’t you think?”

“Maybe so.” Amber saved a table for her and Rex; before either of them knew it, the bug duelist was already out to get their food. “Weevil’s a kind young man, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know about  _ that… _ We still get into quarrels about dueling strategies and such. And if you ask Yugi and his friends, he’s what you would call a ‘duelin’ disgrace.’”

“I wouldn’t have thought that with the way he treats you like a princess.”

As they conversed, the trio learned that they shared the exact same class at noon - freshman composition with Professor Dick Hwad. But that was the only class they had together at the same time. For obvious reasons, Rex had a much lighter schedule; he only had one other class that day - ancient history at 3pm. Weevil’s and Amber’s schedules were nearly identical, with calculus classes, anatomy classes, and a few other classes with such specific subjects that Rex didn’t want to try to understand.

After brunch, Rex, Weevil, and Amber took a seat at a small table in their freshman comp classroom.

“For this being a required class for all freshmen, it sure is a small one,” Amber noticed. “I’d say this room can’t fit more than 20 people.”

After about 15 minutes, the teacher had not yet arrived, even though it was the start of class. “Say, isn’t there a college rule that if the teacher is more than 15 minutes late, then class is unofficially cancelled?” Rex asked Amber.

“Keyword, ‘unofficially.’ And you’ll find out that’s just one of the many unwritten rules college students have made.”

Just then, the door barged open, and a man with goofy glasses ran to the podium. “Hello, everyone, sorry I’m late!”

Amber had already turned to leave the classroom, and the arrival of her professor prompted her to sit back down. As soon as he got himself settled, he returned to his dignified composure.

As Professor Hwad set up his PowerPoint presentation, Weevil whispered, “He sure seems like a scatterbrain, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, well it’s better than being a dino brain.” Rex made finger guns at Weevil.

Ignoring what Rex just said, Amber replied, “He may seem like a scatterbrain, but he’s actually pretty smart. I heard he graduated this university when he was only 20.”

“Huh.” Rex looked at the first slide of the PowerPoint presentation; it appeared to be the class syllabus. He squinted at the materials list and raised his hand. When Professor Hwad called on him, he said, “I didn’t know ‘Internet’ counted as a class material.”

“You’ll find that unlike high school, college is technologically-oriented,” answered Professor Hwad. “Your assignments, as well as copies of my PowerPoint presentations, will be found on our class website.”

“Oh? Then why come to class?”

“Young man, if everyone in college could get by on just reading PowerPoint presentations, then everyone would pass. Plus, you will have in-class presentations as part of your grade.”

Rex sat back down, and didn’t like how Weevil and his classmates snickered at him. He never thought he’d hear that signature laugh of his again. “Haha! It’s only the first 20 minutes of class, and you’ve already made a fool of yourself. Good going, dino brain.”

Rex watched the rest of this presentation with a pouting face. Though that pouting face soon faded as Professor Hwad cracked a few funny jokes throughout - something that his high school teachers dared not to do. He never thought that a teacher could be strict and goofy at the same time, yet here he was.  _ College can’t be this fun… can it? _

Luckily, class was over 15 minutes before class was set to end, which gave Professor Hwad an idea. “Since you will be spending the next four months or so together, and since this class will involve a lot of group work, the last 15 minutes of class will be for an icebreaker. When it’s your turn, state your name, your major if you’ve declared it, and a few facts about yourself.”

A few of the introverts - Weevil included - squirmed at this idea yet didn’t feel brave enough to just up and leave. Rex, however, was as outgoing as they come. Even before it was his turn, he shot up and spoke, “Yup, I’m the one and only Rex Raptor, runner-up in the regionals! I love dinosaurs more than anything else in the world! And… uh… I actually haven’t the faintest clue what I want my major to be. Truth be told, I’m only here because Weevil is.”

“Yes, we know,” spoke a young male student from the table behind Rex. “We all saw you get your ass handed to you at that match.”

“Naw, I  _ let _ Weevil win that one.”

Professor Hwad interrupted this quarrel. “Well, I’m glad we already have some sense of camaraderie. Speaking of Weevil, I believe it’s your turn.”

“Yes, well.” Weevil got up and cleared his throat. “I am the salutatorian of Domino High School’s graduating class, Weevil Underwood. And unlike certain dino brains which shall remain nameless, I have come to college to show the world how smart I am.”

“Hmm, maybe teaching would be a good profession for you, then.” Professor Hwad smiled. “We’re down to our last two people. And you, young lady?”

Amber stood up. “My name is Amber, and I graduated at the top of the class from Domino High School. I love Duel Monsters! By the way, if anyone wants to duel me, you know where to find me.”

Professor Hwad spoke through the men’s whistling, “And your major?”

“I already have declared mine to be Education - Life Sciences. I want to be a biology professor.”

“And at the tender age of 16!” Professor Hwad was clearly impressed. “The world needs more teachers, especially potential ones of your caliber. Thank you, Ms. Amber, you may take a seat.”

“Wow, Amber, I didn’t know that,” Rex also sounded impressed. “You should have told us.”

“I didn’t know you were only 16, either,” spoke Weevil. “I can see why you took the valedictorian spot from me.”

“Hehehe… Thanks, guys.” Amber stopped talking when she noticed the last person about to speak her piece. She was a middle-aged woman with mint green hair, tied up in a traditional Japanese bun, with traditional Japanese clothes to match. “Wow, what an unusual hair colour. The only people I’ve seen with hair like that are Espa Roba, and of course you, Weevil.”

“Speaking of Espa, we just might see him in one of our other classes,” Rex whispered to Weevil.

“Um… Hello.” This woman was clearly shy around her new classmates - embarrassed, even, for being the oldest student there. “My major is Biomedical Sciences. I want to be a doctor, even though I don’t know what kind yet. Some of you may be wondering why I’m so late into my college career. Well, I had an abusive husband, who kicked me out of the house 11 years ago.”

“‘Kicked me out of the house 11 years ago…’” Weevil pondered this woman’s words for a while, and his eyes opened wide. “That’s about when Mother was kicked out of the house!”

“My husband didn’t let me study when I lived in that house. All he saw me for was a housewife. The only thing I had in that house was my then-8-year-old son. I’m here today because I want to make a better career for myself, one that my son can be proud of.”

“What a story!” This woman’s speech moved everyone in the room - some even to tears - not the least was Professor Hwad. “Except it’s missing one thing. Your name.”

“My name is Camellia Kaiba, sister of the late Gozaburo Kaiba. My brother practically gave me as a ‘gift,’ if you will, to my husband to symbolize their new business partnership. But their one-upmanship got so out of hand that eventually, my husband left KaibaCorp to start his own company.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re here. We’re about five minutes early, but I’ll dismiss class anyway. Be sure to read the syllabus and check the class website! If you have questions, you may contact me through there.”

“Well, time to move onto the next enchilada, as they say.” Rex motioned to take a short break before his next class, but stopped when he noticed Weevil approach Camellia, and followed him. “Weeves?”

“Wait!” Weevil stopped Camellia just before she could leave.

“Hey…” Camellia stared into Weevil’s eyes. “Can… Can it be?”

Weevil knelt to the ground and immediately began to cry. “I… I… I never thought… that after 11 years, we would meet like this…”

“You’re…” Camellia knelt down, still not believing the sight of the person before her.

“Mother!” Weevil threw himself at Camellia, burying his face into her chest. “Oh, Mother!”

“Weevil, my son…” Camellia patted her son’s hair and cried too. “I’ve missed you… My sweet son, I’ve missed you so much. You’ve grown into such a handsome young man.”

After Weevil stopped crying, he let his mother wipe away his remaining tears. “Mother, there’s so much I want to tell you, so much I want to talk to you about. I’ve finally cut ties with Fa- with Roach. So has Adelaide.”

“Adelaide is with you?”

“Yeah, we moved in with Rex and his family.”

“Rex?”

Rex revealed himself. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

“I didn’t know that this young man was a friend of yours.”

Weevil hadn’t prepared to meet his mother, let alone come out to her. But after all they had been through, he didn’t need to prepare himself. “Mother, there’s something I have to tell you. I’m a bit scared to do this, since Roach disowned me for it, but… I’m gay, and Rex is my boyfriend.”

“Ooh, you make a cute couple!” Camellia grinned. “In fact, I kind of thought that way after I saw you two hug after regionals.”

“You actually  _ saw _ that?!” Weevil hid his face in his hands. 

“Actually, I’m more impressed by the fact she started shipping us long before we became an item.” Rex winked, eliciting a flick on the nose from Weevil.

“You’re okay with it, then?” Weevil asked, still a bit nervous.

“That you had the courage to tell me just makes me all the more proud of you, son. I love you no matter what.” Camellia let Weevil cry on her shoulder again.

“Sooo…” Rex still tried to process the fact that he had just met his boyfriend’s mother in the strangest of circumstances. “If you’re Weevil’s mom, and you’re the sister of Gozaburo, then… that makes Weeves…”

“...the nephew of Gozaburo, and therefore the rightful heir to KaibaCorp,” Weevil finished.

“Whoa.” Rex blinked. “That’s wild. There’s still so much I haven’t learned about you, baby.”

“Ah! Thank you for reminding me. Mother, you’ll be glad to know that you’re going to be a grandmother. Rex is not only intersex, but he’s also 22 weeks pregnant.”

“Is that so?” Camellia curiously reached for Rex’s baby bump. “M-May I?”

“Of course.”

“Are you… Do you feel all right?” Camellia asked as Weevil put his hand on the baby bump too.

“Eh. My back hurts, and I have to go to the bathroom, like, every hour. But other than that, I can manage.” Rex stopped talking when he felt the baby move. “Oh! What was that?”

Camellia and Weevil felt it too. “Rex… I think… that these are our baby’s first kicks!”

“Oh, Weeves…” As if there hadn’t been enough crying that day, Rex shed his own tears of joy as he talked to his unborn child. He couldn’t be happier to experience yet another pregnancy milestone, especially with Weevil there to experience it with him. “I know, I know, you want out. Don’t worry, we’ll all get to meet you in another four months. And when we do, you’ll get the best party ever!”

Amber watch this scene from near the classroom door. The next class already started to file into the room. “So are you guys going to go to your next class, or what?”

“I’m right behind you.” Weevil started walking to the door, but not without asking Camellia, “What about you?”

“This actually  _ is _ my next class. But here’s my phone number…” Camellia exchanged phone numbers with Weevil. “We can catch up later.”

“And I should totally invite her over, hehe.” Rex sat on a nearby bench after they left. “Amber, you’re more than welcome to join us, too.”

“...I have a class to get to, so I’ll catch you later.” And with that, Amber was suddenly gone.

“She doesn’t seem all too excited about the baby, does she?” Rex wondered out loud. “But whatever. I think, Weeves, that this is going to be a fun college career.”


	14. Interesting History

Chapter 14 - Interesting History 

“Hey.”

Rex waved off the kid who tried to poke him and continued his nap. “Ugh, leave me alone…” He continued to snore so loudly that nearby students stared at him in disgust, hoping that he would wake up, if only to _shut_ up. “Mom, cook me some more… takoyaki, will ya?”

The kid knew just what to say to wake Rex up. He leaned in close and whispered with a smirk, “I beat you, Rex Raptor. Give me your rarest card.”

“Waaaaah!” The dino duelist was now awake. “No, you can’t have my Serpent Night Dragon! ...Oh, Espa Roba. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Well, of course! I’m just one of many students who has this ancient history class.”

Rex looked around. Unlike his freshman comp class, this classroom was a great hall, with every seat taken. And with that many students there, it got loud enough to really awaken him. In comparison to the seating area, the stage was broad and empty, save for a few impatient T.A.s that played on their phones after they finished setting up the lesson. “There has to be at least 100 students here!”

“Try 300. Then again, class _does_ start in five minutes.”

“Aww, man…” Rex stretched until he felt fully awake. “At least I got some rest for myself and the little one.”

“What do you mean?”

At this point, Rex was used to telling everyone, but that didn’t make him any less proud with each announcement. “I’m intersex. Oh, and I’m 22 weeks pregnant, by the way.” He showed off his baby bump.

“That’s a bit hard to believe. And you let Weevil top you?” Espa closed his eyes halfway and raised his eyebrows. “Interesting, because he doesn’t strike me as a top at all. He’s way cuter than you’ll ever be. Nope, I’m not buying it.”

“It’s not as hard to believe as your phony psychic powers.” Rex felt another kick. “See, even my kid thinks so. And you don’t have to lecture me on how cute he is.” Rex waggled his eyebrows. “Believe me, _I know._ ”

“Pssh, whatever.”

“By the way, how are things?”

Somehow, Espa knew what Rex was talking about - or so the faux psychic thought. “I-If it’s about Mako, then… uh… we…” he stuttered, unlike his sly manner of speech from before.

“That was actually more of a general ‘how are things.’ But I’m glad things are working out for you. You know, Weeves and I saw you two at the café, and let me tell you, you guys look cute together. So are you an item yet, or what?” 

Espa’s legs fidgeted. “...We did it once.”

“Whaaaat? You did? When?” Rex curled up into a ball, much like a kindergartener excited for storytime might. "And where?"

“It was last night, in the back of his car - a white 2004 Toyota Camry, if I might add. In a deserted church parking lot, mind you. And even though it was the first time for both of us, he was rather good at it. It hardly even hurt.” Espa’s face turned as red as a cherry. “...I can’t believe I’m telling the worst duelist in all of Domino City this. Though I haven’t confessed to Mako yet.”

Rex turned serious for once, and gave Espa a consolation pat on the back. “Well, my man, you’ve already taken a great first step. You’re adorable as heck, and you're a smart, talented duelist. How could he not fall for you?”

“Th-Thanks, I suppose.”

“Speaking of, I saw Mako today at the club fair. He was looking for you, wanting to apologize for… something.”

“H-He was?” Espa sounded even more flustered. “Oh, great… I bet he didn’t enjoy it at all… Gods, I’m so bad.”

“No, no. It was more like… _He_ was the shy one. He sounded like he was concerned for you. But it’s good to know you’re feeling okay. When Weeves and I did it for the first time, he told me his ass hurt like hell the next day. So consider yourself lucky.”

“Tee hee…” Espa snapped out of his sour mood. “If that’s the case, then I’m glad I’m not _your_ boyfriend. You sound awful in bed. You didn't even use lube, did ya?”

"Th-That's none of your-" Rex didn't want to divulge that he and Weevil lost their virginity to each other in Pharaoh Atem's palace hospital - the most unromantic of settings, if he had to be honest. "Well, no. We didn't have any at the time. But I can assure you that things are better in that arena now." With his pregnancy going on, Rex hadn't thought about having sex with Weevil lately, let alone talked about it. He had never thought about doing it while pregnant, but he had to admit that he wanted to give it a try.

"Who knew we would talk like this?" Espa chuckled.

“Not me, that's for sure. Anyway, you should visit us at club sometime. We meet tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Not tomorrow, anyway. Babysitting duty for my brothers and all that. Maybe another time.” Espa turned to the door, and the entry of a scruffy-looking, short man silenced everyone. “Lookit, the professor just arrived. He’s one of the most popular professors at this university, so I think you’ll like this class.”

“Is he now? Oh!” Rex immediately recognized Dr. Saurus. “I know him! I’ve dueled him before!”

“Did you win?”

“O-Of course I did!”

“Hahaha, yeah right.”

“Shaddap! The professor’s about to start talking.”

“Hello, hello!” Dr. Saurus struck a pose.

“He’s just as goofy as my freshman comp professor,” Rex laughed.

“Yeah, about that,” Espa began. “You know that part when our high school counselors said that ‘your college professors are serious and won’t accept silly behaviour?’ Boloney. Especially at Domino City University.”

“Then I really think I’ll like it here.” Rex kicked back and took out his laptop to take notes. Not that he really expected to take any on the first day of school.

“Hello, class, and welcome to ancient history. I’m your professor, Dr. Spinos Saurus. My father is from Greece, but when he was young, he moved to Japan, where he met my mother. But just recently, they moved back to Greece.”

“I was wondering where he got that funny name,” Rex thought aloud. In a not-so-diverse city like Domino, he was pleasantly surprised to see more _hafus_ other than himself, Ptera, and Weevil. Then again, with how many people this popular university had, it stood to reason.

“I am not only a professor at this esteemed university, I am also a leading paleontologist. Our first unit will cover the formation of the universe, and how dinosaurs came to be.”

“That is siiiiiick! Dinos for the win!” Rex got up without thinking and dabbed.

“My, my.” Spinos chuckled. “I’m glad someone’s passionate about my class. I just hope that he can study better than he duels.”

“Daaaang, you just got roasted by a professor on the first day.” Espa couldn’t stop laughing.

“Twice.” Rex huffed. His face quickly changed from a pout to a smile, however. After skimming the class syllabus, Spinos spoke about the Big Bang. Rex didn’t have much interest in history before, as his teachers in high school bored him to tears. But this new teacher made history so interesting, Rex wished he could take better notes. _I need to learn how to type without looking at the keys._

The dinosaur duelist never thought he would, but he was genuinely upset when class ended. He was even more upset when he tried to catch up with Spinos as he left, but couldn’t. About fifty other students wanted to have a word with him, even when the professor insisted he had to travel to an archaeological site that day. But that didn’t stop him from noticing Rex in the crowd and saying, “You’re that kid I dueled. How’s it goin’?”

“Awesome! I really liked today’s lecture, by the way. You should teach the teachers at my old high school how to actually be fun.”

“Young man, if I could clone myself to be in multiple places at once, I would. Right after I revive a Brachiosaurus, of course.”

“Hey, my name isn’t ‘young man!’” Rex put his hands on his hips. “I’m Rex Raptor, the son of Ptera Raptor, and don’t you forget it!”

“Did you say ‘Ptera Raptor?’” Spinos’ eyes suddenly opened wide. “So that _was_ her in the hospital…”

“What, do you know my mom?”

“You… could say that.” Spinos squirmed at the mention of Ptera’s name, but still showed kindness towards Rex. “Anyway, if you want to duel me or come to an archaeological site with me, you’re more than welcome to.”

“For real?!” Rex jumped excitedly, until a hard kick from his baby brought him down to Earth. “Ouch… I’d love to join you today, but Mom would have a fit if I did. I’ll try to convince her to let me go with you one day.”

“Y-Yeah… Have a good day, then.” So spoke Spinos as he left the scene.

“That was a little weird… Dr. Saurus seems really nice to me, but doesn’t want to talk about Mom.” Since Ptera wouldn’t come until Weevil’s last class ended, Rex decided to spend the next couple of hours absentmindedly perusing the library shelves. That absentminded perusing, however, soon turned into a checkout consisting of five large books about dinosaurs and a limited edition of Jurassic Park.

The bug duelist would find him sleeping in front of a school computer, with a YouTube video called “How to Stomp Your Foes with Dinosaur Cards” on the screen. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up. Or I’m going to carry you like a princess all the way to Ptera’s car.”

“No, you won’t. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I can’t walk. Or did you forget I was the top athlete at Domino High School?” Rex stumbled as he got up. “Oww!”

“Uh-huh.”

Rex didn’t want to admit it, but his ankles had been hurting ever since Spinos’ class ended, and his back hurt even more. “Shut up, bug boy! I wanna go home, and I’m sure you do too!”

After a walk that involved two trips to the loo, Rex and Weevil finally arrived at the car loop to an energetic Ptera. “So, how did the first day go, boys?”

“Pretty well,” answered Weevil. “Although my calculus teacher cut right to the chase. No introduction, no syllabus go-over, not even an icebreaker. Just straight into the integrals.”

“Uuuuugh! That word!” Rex curled up into a ball. 

“So I take it _your_ first day didn’t go as planned?”

“Oh, it went fine. Mostly because Weevil and I had freshman comp together." Rex turned to Weevil and whispered. "Turns out Espa Roba is in my ancient history class. And he did it with Mako. Don't ask me how, but our conversation went on such a tangent that he got me to think about... um, pregnant sex."

"Well, well." Weevil liked the sound of it. "Sure, as long as you don't stress yourself or the baby."

"Hehehe..." Rex let Weevil curl into him further. "You know I won't."

“Oh, yeah." Weevil turned his head to Adelaide. “Adelaide, I saw Mother in my freshman comp class. She’s one of my classmates. Apparently, she’s working to be a doctor!”

“C-Camellia… She’s here in Domino City? I’m glad…”

“Mrs. Raptor, I would love to invite her over sometime, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course! I’d love to meet your mother.”

“Ooh, Mom!” Rex spoke up. “I have this super-awesome professor for ancient history! Not only that, but he loves dinosaurs too!”

“He… He does?” Ptera’s good mood faded in an instant.

“Yeah! His name is Dr. Spinos Saurus! He’s also a leading paleontologist and even invited me to go with him to archaeological sites! Please, Mom, can I go?”

As she pulled into the driveway of the mobile home, Ptera slammed on the brakes.

“Ow!” Rex rubbed his belly. “Did you forget that I’m with child?”

“Absolutely not!” Ptera scowled at her son when all four of them were out of the car. “You are to stay away from that _pendejo_ , understood?”

“But Mom, he’s my professor. It’s kind of hard _to_ stay away from him.”

Ptera gritted her teeth. “At the very least, you are not to hang out with him.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Rex looked perplexed.

“Rex… Did you notice what that man looked like?”

“He had a goatee and a really shaggy moustache. He also had wild brown hair and indigo eyes. ...Now that you mention it, he looks like me. Mom… Don’t tell me… Dr. Saurus is-”

“That vile, disgusting man is your father, who abandoned us almost 20 years ago.”


	15. Phuckdis Chit

Chapter 15 - Phuckdis Chit 

~30 August 2005~

Now that it was a Tuesday, Rex had a completely different schedule from yesterday’s. He had freshman biology and algebra earlier today. The professors there weren’t as fun as Professor Hwad or Spinos, but they still beat anything he had in high school. Those classes largely reviewed what he vaguely remembered from high school, and what they would be learning about throughout the year. 

With this particular class so small, the biology professor thought it prudent to have an anatomy unit near the end of the year, complete with dogfin shark dissection. A few freshmen laughed at the word “sperm,” annoying the more mature-minded students.

_ Apparently, these bozos have never been taught sex ed properly.  _ Rex would have laughed, too, if not for the child he carried. He could hardly believe that one of his own eggs and one of Weevil’s lucky little sperm created the miracle growing inside him now. Rather than laugh with the rest of his classmates, Rex beamed at the word every time the professor uttered it. He wondered if he would have the courage to tell his class about the intersex community when the time came. 

“And that’s all for today!” The biology professor ended class five minutes early. “Our first lab will be two weeks from now, so be sure you all have lab coats by then.”

“I wish myself luck finding one that will fit.” Rex giggled, deciding that now was as good as time as any to look through the campus bookstore for said lab coat. 

“I wish you that much luck too, hun.” Needing some school supplies of his own, Weevil had been waiting in front of the bookstore for his boyfriend since his last class ended. “Let’s hop to it, then.”

“Unlike you, I’m brave enough to actually ask for help.” Rex opened the door, ringing the small wind chime hanging from the top of it.

“Hello there! How can I help you?” a bookstore employee greeted from behind one of the counters.

“Yes, I need a-” Rex turned his head around when the employee turned out to be Joey, and muttered to himself, “Son of a bitch.”

“You were saying something about being ‘brave enough?’” Weevil chuckled.

“Aww, I thought we were friends by now.” Joey frowned as he got out from behind the counter. 

“Just… uh… call it a knee-jerk reaction.” Rex was slowly getting used to friendly interactions with Joey, but knew he had a long way to go. “Anyway, why are you here? You’re not a college student, are you?”

“Naw, I’m just filling in for a duelist buddy of mine. I have more friends than just those in the ‘Dweeb Patrol,’ you know.”

“Why am I not surprised… Er, I mean, I need a lab coat.” Rex let Joey lead him to the collection of science lab supplies.

Joey took one look at Rex’s baby bump, knowing what the dino duelist’s concern was. “There are more expectant mothers who go to college than you think.” He retrieved a maternity button-up lab coat from the racks. “So you bet this university accommodates them.”

“That’s good to know.” Rex felt a small sense of relief.

“Did you need anything else?” 

“Now that I’m here in the science lab section, I think I can handle it on my-” Rex said no more on the matter as a whiff of mint green hair zipped past him. 

“No running in the bookstore!” Joey shouted, despite how the owner of the green hair tucked himself in the corner of the lab supply section. “Oh, Espa Roba. It’s been a while! How have you-”

“Shh!” Espa started to grab some lab coats from the racks, burying himself in them.

“Great, that’s a lot of mess I’m gonna have to clean up… You know, Espa, I don’t hold it against you anymore that you cheated at Battle City. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

“Will you stop talking to me before-”

“Good afternoon, you guys!” Mako had rounded the counter as soon as Espa completely covered himself in lab coats. “We seem to run into each other a lot in this city, don’t we?”

“Mako, my dude!” Joey gave the fish duelist a fist bump and hug. “Still duelin’?”

“You bet. I’m here in the bookstore to get some stuff for one of my marine biology labs.”

“Then you’ve come to the right-” Joey turned his head when he heard a barely audible “achoo” come from underneath the pile of lab coats.

“Oh?” Mako looked in that direction too. “Looks like you’ve got quite a mess there. Why, did some mischievous little guppy come through here?”

“You could say that,” answered Rex with a nervous laugh. 

“In that case, I could help you clean it up.” Mako stooped down to pick up a coat from the pile, pausing when he felt the pile move. “Oh ho! What do we have here?”

Espa didn’t know if he felt more ashamed to have been found, or to have created an incredibly stupid way to hide himself.

“Espa!” Mako sounded ecstatic to see the faux psychic, and refrained from hugging him in front of the many customers in the store. “What a coincidence to find you here!”

“This city is full of coincidences, isn’t it?” Rex whispered to Weevil.

“What’s wrong?” Mako tried to look Espa in the eyes, and out of respect for him, did not touch him. “I haven’t seen you since… you know…  _ that time  _ .”

“...” Espa hugged a few of the balled-up lab coats, still too shy to speak his piece.

“If you’re too embarrassed to face me after that, I understand and respect it. But… um…” Mako pressed his index fingers together. “I really wanted to go on another date with you. To the downtown park, if that’s okay with you.”

“R-Really?” Espa’s face lit up. “I’d love to!”

“Perfect! I’ll see you there, my swe-” Mako blushed deeply when he realized he and Espa were holding hands while they spoke, and promptly let go. “I mean, I’ll see you there, Espa.”

“Daw…” Espa smiled like an idiot as he watched Mako go up to the cash register with his purchases. “Isn’t he the most handsome man you've ever seen?”

“ _ Third,  _ maybe. No correlation to how he placed in regionals, oh no.”

Espa ignored Rex’s quip, even when Weevil bonked the brunette on the head.

“Whoo!” Joey whistled. “So there  _ is  _ something going on between you! I knew it!”

“W-We’re not an item yet,” Espa stuttered as he, Joey, Weevil, and Rex helped to clean up the mess of lab coats he made.

“So tell me how you fell for him.” Joey took a short break from the conversation to tell a customer, “If you’re looking for a medium-sized lab coat, here’s one for you.”

“Thanks.”

When the customer left the vicinity, Espa continued, “It all started during our first duel together, about three years ago. Without my Jinzo, I didn’t think I had a chance. But even though he was my opponent, Mako cheered me on, saying that I was more than just a single card. Nobody, let alone an opponent, had believed in me that way before. I wasn’t even upset when I lost, and my brothers weren’t either. In fact, they took quite a liking to him right after the duel.”

“Aww, that’s nice.” Weevil smiled at Espa.

“And you lost your virginity before I did. I gotta say I’m a little jealous.”

Espa nearly threw all of the lab coats he held in the air when Joey said that. “How did you know that?”

“Dude, this guy is an expert when it comes to sex,” Rex replied, ignoring Joey’s bashful look. “He knew I masturbated at school once before I even mentioned it.”

“Which is a sweet twist of irony, considering he’s yet to get any.” Weevil raised his eyebrows at Joey. “Even though his girlfriend is a sex therapist-in-the-making.”

“Mai’s not my girlfriend… yet.” Joey bit his lip, not appreciating the teasing from his least favourite duelist in Domino City. 

“Why, too shy to tell her?” Espa patted Joey on the shoulder; the mess he made was finally cleaned up. “Well, join the club, man.”

“At least you’re making better progress than me.” Joey pouted.

“I’ll have to agree there,” Weevil cut in. “The park is one of the most romantic places you can go to in this city. Espa, consider yourself a lucky man.”

At this point, Joey didn’t feel like getting annoyed, and instead turned his attention to Espa. “Looks like we’ve both come a long way since our duel in Battle City three years ago.”

“You got that right.” Espa continued to talk to Joey as they made their way to an open cash register.

“Well, that wasn’t how I expected my bookstore visit to go, but it was certainly an interesting one.” Rex smiled as he brought his purchases thence as well. 

“Yes, and you spent so much time in there that we don’t have a lot of time for the club meeting.”

“Oh, hi, Amber.” Rex turned to the person who spoke to him - from several cash registers away. “Hey, you can come to this register, you know. The line over there is way longer.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Amber snarled as she watched Joey and Espa talk. “There’s certain duelists in this room I’d rather not interact with.”

“She sounds a lot like another introvert I know,” Rex spoke to Weevil. “I wonder what her beef with those two is?”

“Haha… I wonder that, too.”

After the two had finally left the bookstore, Weevil insisted on stopping at the loo before the Domino Tabletop Gaming meeting, and that Rex and Amber went there without him. And now that the lighthearted mood in the bookstore was gone, Rex could now only think of what happened right before he arrived home from school yesterday. Ever since yesterday’s events, except just now in the bookstore, Rex could only think about how badly he wanted to see Spinos - his father - again.  _ There’s so much I want to ask him… But I won’t be seeing him until tomorrow.  _

Amber noticed how pensive Rex was. The pair took their seats in a large meeting room, with many chairs surrounding several empty platforms. She surmised the meeting room was even larger than the student union. “Rex, is something wrong?”

“So. You know how we met Weevil’s mom yesterday?”

“How could I forget  _ that?  _ ” 

It turns out she wasn’t the only parent I met that day. Have you heard of Dr. Spinos Saurus?”

“Yes. I have him for the Tuesday/Thursday block starting at 3pm. He’s a pretty cool guy. And yes, I remember him from the duel.”

“He’s also my father.”

“Get out of town, really?!” Amber squinted at Rex. “Well, you  _ do  _ look like him. It seems the only thing you inherited from Ptera is those crazy sideburns.”

“And a fighter’s spirit! I just wish I didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to see him again. I don’t know if I told you this, but according to Mom, he abandoned us just to be with another woman. Still, Amber, I have to ask… How did you know my Mom’s name and the fact that she has wild purple hair, if you have never even met her?”

“Um… Hey, there’s the president of the club!” Amber pointed to the door from which the president came.

“And  _ here’s  _ Weevil Underwood,” Weevil spoke as he finally returned from the loo, and took a seat right next to Rex.

“That doesn’t answer my question, but okay.” Rex waited intently for the president to begin the meeting.

“Goooood evening, my fellow students! I’m the president of Domino Tabletop Gaming, Phuckdis Chit!” Phuckdis addressed the fairly large crowd.

“And I’m his twin brother, William Chit!” the vice president of the club piped up.

“Now because we’re a new club, we don’t have a secretary, sergeant-at-arms, or treasurer yet. That will be decided in the next meeting. Today, we will hold a series of duels to attest your abilities as duelists. After the meeting, please let me know if you’re interested in one of the positions… Huh?”

“Pfft… Hahahaha!” 

Rex couldn’t help but laugh at those funny names, which Phuckdis largely ignored. “So did everyone bring their Duel Disks?”

“Yes, we did!”

All, that is, except for Rex and Weevil.

“Hmm, looks like someone will just have to spectate,” William spoke as he beckoned for six of the club’s other members to begin dueling. The setup of the arenas reminded Rex all too well of Duelist Kingdom. He was thankful there weren’t irritating duelists and an even more irritating creator of Duel Monsters there to make his memories worse.

“You really  _ are  _ the dumbest person on this campus, dino brain.”

“Just shut up and watch, bug boy.” Rex decided to watch two freshman duelists - one with a Shiranui deck and one with a Spellcaster deck.

“I activate the special ability of Shiranui Sunsaga to destroy all of your cards on the field!”

“Whoa, a total board wipe!” Rex observed. “And unlike my Jurrac Meteor, he gets to keep his monster on the field.”

“I have heard of the Shiranui archetype,” spoke Weevil. “But I’ve never seen it in action. It’s supposed to be one of the hardest archetypes in Duel Monsters to beat.”

“S-So? My Quintet Magician-”

“...is one going to be one of the destroyed cards! Now, Shiranui Sunsaga, direct attack!”

“No!” The Spellcaster user knelt in defeat. “I’ll never defeat a Shiranui deck!”

“That’s right, you won’t.”

“Oh, you stupid son of a bitch!” The Spellcaster duelist threw his Duel Disk across the room. “Come on, why don’t we fight for real?”

“Bring it on, motherfucker.” The Shiranui duelist steeled himself for a fight.

“Uh-oh, this ain’t gonna be good!” Rex got so scared that out of nowhere, he began to halfshift. “Whoa! What is going on?”

Rex certainly didn’t expect to see the two duelists halfshift as well, into Shiranui Sunsaga and Quintet Magician. He thought they were really going to go at it too, until Phuckdis intervened. “Gentlemen!” He spread his two wings of Assault Blackwing - Onimaru the Divine Thunder. “We settle our differences through duels, not through mano-a-mano fighting! Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Both boys shifted back.

“Amber… Phuckdis… What the hell just happened?” Rex asked, astonished.

“Rex, there’s something you should know about this club. Yes, it’s a tabletop gaming club. But more than that, it is a safe haven for shapeshifters, such as Weevil and yourself.”

“And you?”

“Nope. I’m one of the nonshifters.”

“That reminds me,” Weevil began. “President Phuckdis, if I may?”

“Yeah, I remember. You wanted to talk about seeing those awry real visions, right?”

“Correct.” Weevil now spoke to the crowd. “My fellow shapeshifters, I don’t think that was a real vision, but an actual monster. I didn’t see any duelists nearby that could have summoned them.”

“What?” A member of the crowd sounded concerned. “Real monsters, here in the city? That’s impossible!”

“No, it’s not!” William interjected. “If we who can transform into monsters can live in Domino, then I completely believe Weevil.”

“We haven’t seen any monster attacks lately, but we’ll be sure to keep a lookout,” Amber spoke. “I hope you can find a home here.”

“Hold on.” Weevil spoke up. “First you know Rex’s mother’s name, then you know we’re shapeshifters. It seems to me you know a lot more than you let on.”

“Please… Weevil, I beg you, don’t make me say any more.” Amber clung to the bug duelist. “I’ve got so much emotional baggage, and it hurts me to talk about it.”

“I’m sorry.” Weevil consoled her. “I shouldn’t have pried.”

“Stop… Stop being so nice to me…” Amber pulled away and started to cry. “You have Rex, remember?”

“Dude, I don’t mind. I’m not so petty that I’ll get jealous every time Weeves talks to or touches a girl.”

“Rex… Aaaaah!” And just like that, Amber ran out of the room.

“Wow, you made a girl cry.” William shook his head. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Come on, hun, let’s go.” Weevil grabbed Rex’s arm, ignoring the stares of the other club members. “Maybe when these guys have had a chance to cool off, we can talk like real men. Maybe.”

Despite what Weevil said, and despite what happened at that meeting, Rex resolved to come to that Thursday meeting, hoping that the club would give them a second chance.


	16. Anything Else?

Chapter 16 - Anything Else? 

~01 September 2005~ 

“And that concludes my lecture on the formation of the oceans,” Spinos finished. “Be sure to study the notes. Our first test is in three weeks, but that doesn’t mean you should-”

Rex didn’t even let Spinos finish talking before he started running up to the stage. “Wait!” he pushed by the many students who were leaving. “Dad!”

“H-Hello…” Spinos stopped in his tracks.

“You _are_ my dad, aren’t you?” Rex asked when he caught up with Spinos.

“That is correct. Ever since I found out about you, I’ve longed for the day I’d see you again as your father. I didn’t think this day would ever come, but now that it has…”

“Why, Spinos?” Rex cried. “Why did you have to leave my mom alone? She endured horrible morning sickness all by herself, just to give birth to a kid you didn’t even care about. And all so you could be with some lady friend!”

“I know that there is so much you want to know about me, and where I’ve been the past 19 and a half years. But I want to wait until your mother is here to listen. I have a long and painful story to tell, one I only want to share when the moment is right.”

“Well, good luck trying to find her, because even if you did, she wouldn’t want anything to do with you. Anything else?”

“There’s only one favour I ask of you, Rex… My son, please give me a chance. Give me a chance to prove my worth as a father, and to earn the trust of your mother.”

“She was very hurt when you left her, you know? Since you _do_ have a lot of proving to do, you better start now.”

“Very well. I think I’ll start by showing you where the on-campus doctor is. When was the last time you saw a doctor?”

“About a month ago, not long before school started.”

“Do you know how far along you are?” Spinos gestured towards Rex’s baby bump.

“...I’m almost 23 weeks.”

“Then it’s important that you get an ultrasound to see how your baby is doing. You’ve quite overdue, actually, since most people get an ultrasound at twenty weeks. At this stage, you can not only listen to your baby’s heartbeat through doppler radar, but you can also determine the sex of your baby.”

Rex had never even considered any of these things before. “You know any doctors around here who can do that?”

“Yes. In fact, I am friends with the on-campus doctor who specializes in both family medicine and sonography. I can take you there, if you want.”

“I’ll take you up on your offer, as soon as I call Weevil and tell him to come here. He _is_ the father, you know.”

“Yes, of course.” Spinos waited for Rex to make the call before saying, “Thank you so much for giving me the chance to help not only you, but also my grandchild.”

“...Yeah, sure.”

Rex and Spinos uneasily stood, avoiding each other’s eyes, until Weevil got there. “Hey, hun. Oh, I didn’t know you were friends with Dr. Saurus. I have him in the same block as Amber does.”

“He’s not a friend, he’s my father.”

“What? I mean… uh… P-Pleased to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise.”

Rex didn’t want the situation to turn more awkward, and so he interrupted with, “That’s not the reason I called you here, Weeves. We’re going to get an ultrasound of our baby.”

“I should have thought of the idea sooner… I mean, I would have, but I don’t know of any good doctors around here. But I’m glad I now know of someone who does.” Weevil began to walk with Spinos and Rex in the direction of the clinic.

This campus clinic was a lot larger than Rex thought. To him, it was less of a humble campus clinic and more of a full-scale hospital. Even the one he went to when he first found out about his pregnancy wasn’t this big. He would know, as he recently learned that that hospital was the one in which he had awakened with Weevil after having his Orichalcos-stolen soul restored.

He quickly found himself getting lost, but had too much pride to ask the receptionist just where this doctor was. Instead, a man with a long black ponytail and a white lab coat approached him. “Young man, are you lost?”

At this point, Rex was getting tired of walking around. “Yeah. I’m looking for the campus doctor who specializes in sonography.”

“This is he! You’re a shifter, aren’t you?”

“You know about us shapeshifters?”

“Well, I _am_ one. I can transform into Guardian Grarl.” The campus doctor bowed his head. “I’m Dr. Mayichi Balls. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

 _Aww, I wish_ I _could actually transform into a dinosaur too. What a pity that some dork with an even dorkier name can, but I can’t._ “But how could you tell just by looking at me?” Rex asked as Dr. Balls beckoned for him to follow him to his office.

“It isn’t a coincidence that you are intersex. All male shapeshifters are.”

“Really? So does that mean I could get Weevil pregnant? He’s intersex, too?”

“Yes and yes. Though it largely depends. What can you guys transform into?”

“I’m Creepy Coney while he’s Earthbound God Uru,” Rex answered, almost a little too excitedly. Already, he began to play a fantasy in his head - him coming home after a big tournament win, to a pregnant Weevil greeting him upon his return.

“Then you will go into heat far more often than he does. The stronger a shapeshifter, the harder it is for him to get pregnant.” Dr. Balls noticed Rex’s frown and started to take his vitals. “But don’t worry, because it’s not impossible! Even though I’m a powerful monster, I am proud to have given birth to three children. ...There. Your vitals are all normal. Have you been experiencing pain, nausea, or other symptoms?”

“I have really bad back pain and swollen ankles sometimes. And I have to go to the bathroom A LOT.”

“That’s fairly normal. For the sake of you both, I highly recommend you do at least some physical activity throughout your pregnancy. Water activities, preferably, so you don’t stress your joints. I also hope you’ve been taking prenatal vitamins.”

“All right! I love to swim! As for the vitamins, my mom made sure to get me started on those as soon as we found out. She also gave me this awesome ginger tea when I still had morning sickness. Not that I have that anymore.”

“That’s good to hear.” Dr. Balls finished preparing the fetal doppler and ultrasound device. “Are you ready for the ultrasound?”

Before Rex could say yes, he had just realized that Weevil and Spinos were not there. In fact, they both had come in just then. “Sorry I’m late, doctor. Weevil and I were in the restroom.”

“Ah, Dr. Saurus! Fancy meeting you here. If you need a checkup, it’s going to have to wait until I am done with this young man.”

“‘The young man’ happens to be my son.”

“Even better!”

“And I’m the father of Rex’s child,” spoke Weevil.

“Then you’ve arrived at the perfect time! I’ll do the ultrasound first.”

“Oh. In that case, I better leave you guys alone. I’ll be in the lobby.” So spoke Spinos as he made way for thence.

“Okay, then. Mr. Raptor, was it? Can you lay on this bed and lift up your shirt, please?”

Rex did as he was told. _This bed is more comfortable than the one at the hospital, that’s for sure._ “Ooh…” He shivered when he felt a cool gel - and a probe - that quickly warmed up. He looked to the ultrasound monitor, and already he could see his unborn child on it. “Well, if that isn’t the cutest thing ever! That’s what’s inside me?”

“How’s he doing, Doctor?” Weevil asked. “Or should I say ‘she?’ ...Wait, we _can_ find out the sex, right?”

“I want to know, too,” spoke Rex. 

“Your baby is doing fine,” answered Dr. Balls as he pointed out the baby’s heart, limbs, and head.

“Oh my gosh, look at those little feet!” Rex cooed as he pointed at the monitor.

Dr. Balls now switched the ultrasound to 4D mode. “I see no problems at all; she’s doing wonderfully.”

“‘She?’ Do you mean…” Rex began.

“Yup! You’re having a baby girl.”

“Aww…” Rex teared up. “She’s so adorable!”

“I wonder which one of us our daughter is going to look like.” Weevil held his boyfriend’s hand. “And I hope she gets my smarts instead of yours - or rather, lack thereof.”

“Oh, be quiet.” Rex playfully hit Weevil. "And if by some slim chance that she _does_ get your smarts, I'll be sure to teach her all about my duelin' dinos."

"Nah, she's gonna be an insect duelist like me."

"You wanna bet on that, bug boy?" 

Dr. Balls smiled at these parents-to-be. “Last but not least is the doppler radar. It’s a portable one that I’ll send home with you. Mr. Raptor, be sure to check your daughter’s heartbeat from time to time. I’ll show you how to do it.”

Rex normally was horrible at paying attention, but he watched Dr. Balls’s instructions intently. Using the gel from the ultrasound, the doctor took out a much smaller probe. “Unlike the ultrasound, you need to put the doppler probe in very specific spots.” A fairly slow thumping sound could be heard from the radar, but nothing showed up on the display. “And don’t confuse your baby’s heartbeat with your own. A fetal heartbeat is much faster, usually above 120 bpm.”

Just then, Rex could hear a strong and quick sound come from the doppler; “140 bpm” showed up on the screen. “Is that…?”

“ _That’s_ the sound you want to listen for.”

“Oh, gods…” What started as tears-in-the-eyes turned into full-on crying as Rex heard his daughter’s heartbeat for the first time. “Weeves… I have a child growing inside me… and she’s so full of life.”

“I know, hun… I know.” Now, Weevil began to cry too.

After a few more minutes, Dr. Balls packed up the fetal doppler, along with a few other items and informational pamphlets. “Before you leave, Mr. Raptor, there are a few things you should know. Your vagina has the same opening as your anus, which is why you can get pregnant through anal sex. Your birth canal - your other vaginal opening, if you will - is about the same size as a cisgendered woman’s urethral opening, so you probably haven’t noticed it. But you certainly will when it’s time for childbirth. That is, if you don’t opt for a C-section like many male shapeshifters do.”

“Childbirth, huh?” Rex trembled in fear. “In just four months, I’ll… I’m so nervous.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“So will I, hun.” Weevil kissed Rex on the cheek.

“Thanks, you guys… As for the whole C-section thing, I still haven’t decided if I want to go that route yet.”

“Whichever delivery method you choose, I’ll support you wholeheartedly. Now do you have any other questions for me?” 

“No, sir.” After Dr. Balls cleaned up the gel, Rex put his coat back on and started to leave. “Thanks again.”

Spinos was reading a magazine in the lobby when Rex and Weevil arrived there. “So how’d it go?”

“I am glad to know I’m carrying a perfectly healthy baby girl.”

“That’s great!”

It had just occurred to Rex that he somehow managed to waltz out of the clinic without paying a dime. “But what’s not so great is how I forgot to pay the doctor. I don’t even have a job yet.”

“Not to worry; healthcare is free here for all students, faculty, and staff. And since this university is also affiliated with the downtown hospital, you didn’t get charged for your care there, either. Though most other hospitals around here charge exorbitant costs.” 

“And if you didn’t tell me about this doctor, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to see my daughter, or know how to care for her.” Rex glanced to the side before looking at his father. “So thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome, son. If there’s anything else you need from me, I’d be more than happy to help. Well, I have to go teach another class, but I’ll see you soon.”

As Rex waved goodbye, Amber happened to walk past and heard most of the conversation. “So, Dr. Spinos Saurus is your father, hmm?”

“Waaah!” Rex couldn’t look directly at Amber, not after remembering what happened at Domino Tabletop Gaming’s last meeting. “Amber… About what happened at the meeting-”

“Never you mind.” Amber spoke as if those events never happened. “I normally don’t lose control of my emotions like that; I can assure you that I’m fine now.”

“Are you sure?” Rex looked at Amber, concerned, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Enough about me. What about you?” Amber touched the baby bump. “How’s the baby?”

“I actually just got out from a doctor’s appointment. Not only is my baby healthy, she’s also a girl!” Rex chuckled.

“Have you thought of a name for her yet?”

Rex blinked. “No, I haven’t.”

“My dude, that’s one of the first things you should think about when you find out you’re pregnant. Everyone knows that, dino brain!”

“Well, do _you_ have any suggestions?”

“Um…”

“Now look who’s the dino brain!” Rex gave Amber noogies. 

Weevil had to admit that this scene made him a little jealous, so he interrupted it with, “Shouldn’t we go home, Rex? Ptera’s waiting for us by the dumpster car loop.”

“Yeah, let’s.” Rex let go of Amber. “See you around, Amber.”

“Wait! Um… Rex, I have a request. Can I… Is it possible for me to go home with you?”

“Why, did you get into a fight with your parents or something?”

“...You could say that.”

Rex knew better than to pry further. “In that case, you’re welcome to join us. My mom is the coolest person around, so I’m sure she’d be okay with it.”

It was quite a walk to said car loop, and Rex was astounded that he didn’t need to stop by the loo on the way there.


	17. Proud Daughter

Chapter 17 - Proud Daughter 

“Wow, Rex, you look like you went on quite the shopping trip!” Ptera observed as her son got in the back seat of the car with Weevil. 

“I bought all my school supplies.” Rex sheepishly revealed his debit card. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Quite the contrary.” Ptera ruffled Rex’s hair. “You’re coming to class prepared. I’m so proud of you, _mi hijo._ ”

“Hehe… Thanks.”

Ptera noticed the bag with the fetal doppler. “Oh? What’s that?

“I saw a doctor on campus today.” Rex was careful not to mention a word about Spinos. “And no, it didn’t cost me a dime. Bet you didn’t know that healthcare is free for all students, whether it’s at the hospital or at the university.”

Amber noticed that the back seat was fairly full, and elected to take the front seat. “Um… Hello, ma’am.”

“Who’s this, Rex? A new friend of yours?” Ptera asked as the car took off.

“Yeah. Her name’s Amber… Say, Amber, I just realized something. You never told us your surname or your middle name.”

“That’s because I don’t have either one. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who don’t.”

“Is that so? Well, I learn something new every day.”

“That’s not hard for you, dino brain.” Weevil laughed.

“Speaking of which, Mom… The reason I went to the doctor was to get an ultrasound of my baby. You’re going to have a happy, healthy granddaughter!”

“You should name her after me, haha! I hope she gets my wild purple hair and personality.” Ptera invited Amber into the house. “Adelaide and your mama just came home from a long shift at work, so don’t wake them up until it’s time for dinner.”

“Ma’am, can I help?” Amber offered as she retrieved a satchel from her handbag. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m not the best cook around, but… I know how to cook bee larvae.”

“Say whaaat? In that case, knock yourself out!” Weevil happily consented.

“Y-Yes, well… Go right ahead.” This notion creeped Ptera out a little bit.

“Now I can just get right into studying, without worrying about looking for my favourite food.” Weevil laid down on the sofa with a cushion under his head. As usual, Rex turned it to one of his favourite channels, the Discovery Channel. Weevil paid the T.V. no heed as he began to study, propping his legs on a loveseat. “Which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find in a while. Where ever did you find it, Amber?”

“Oh, just… Just looking around.” Amber whistled as she and Ptera cooked. While she left the skillet on, she began to prepare salad, as that was the only other thing she knew how to make. “My father actually owns a well-off apiary and is an avid lover of insects. He’s the reason why I’m an insect duelist. I also have some of our honey with me, if you want some.”

“So you _are_ rich!” Rex grumbled. Having little desire to study, he pulled out his laptop and switched the T.V. to the news. “That explains why you’re such a smartass.”

“I’d love to meet this fellow insect duelist,” Weevil mused. “And what better way to introduce ourselves than through Duel Monsters?”

“Haha…” Amber gave a halfhearted chuckle. Dinner was ready, and she offered Weevil a small bowl of fried bee larvae. “I’m sure of that…”

A reporter from the T.V. put this conversation on hold. “We just received breaking news that monsters have been spotted in various parts of Domino City and around the world. Sightings have not been prevalent, but said monsters have caused wreckage in several small towns and isolated areas. We will keep you posted on these latest monster attacks.”

“Oh great, _this_ again?” Rex facepalmed as he recalled the mess that the Orichalcos caused. “As if one or two monster attacks weren’t enough…”

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Ptera raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Forget you heard that.” Rex had never told his parents about said Orichalcos mess or the fairly recent Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack. Or about his shapeshifting abilities, for that matter. And forget about the time travelling and KC Grand Tournament! Rex wasn’t thankful that, unlike Weevil, he had no ability to bullshit. “Just… uh… Whoa! What was that?”

Rex could hear a loud sound; though it was in the distance, its source was strong enough to shake the ground and wake up Adelaide and Tricera.

“Oh my gods, could it be an earthquake?” Tricera worried.

“No, an earthquake would be more consistent than that,” Adelaide answered. “But hust in case, I’ll call the police and report it.”

“Then… Then maybe the monsters from the news _are_ real!” Ptera turned the burner off and approached her son. “Rex. You know something that the rest of us don’t, don’t you?”

“Mom…” _I suppose there’s no hiding it now._ “You’re not going to believe this, but I-” A knocking from the front door prevented Rex from speaking further. “I’ll get that.”

“Who could be knocking at our door at a time like this?” Ptera wondered. “I hope none of you ordered pizza or something.”

“Maybe it’s the press,” Adelaide suggested. “They could be here to ask us about monster sightings.”

“...Wait.” Tricera squinted at the person who knocked on the door. “That’s-”

“Dad!” Rex was stunned to see Spinos at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You…” Tricera marched to the door. “You fucking bastard! How dare you show your ugly ass face at MY house!”

“W-Wait!” Spinos couldn’t stop the tall, strong Tricera from seizing him by the collar and punching his face.

“How the hell did you even find us?” Ptera asked. “You’ve been stalking us, haven’t you?”

“P-Ptera…”

“ _¡Vete al diabolo, puta madre!_ ” Ptera clocked Spinos really hard on the other cheek.

“Please, Ptera, there is no time!” Spinos disregarded the stings from the punches on both sides of his cheeks. “There are monsters coming this way!”

“And you expect me to believe you?” Ptera thundered. “If I couldn’t trust you 20 years ago, how do you expect me to trust you now?”

“Mrs. Raptor, he’s not lying!” Amber pointed to the sky from which several flying monsters came. “Look!”

“Oh, gods…” Ptera watched as the monsters shot lasers that destroyed nearby homes. “They’re going to destroy my house that I’ve worked so hard to save up for!”

 _The monsters…_ Weevil trembled as he heard the horrified screams of the unfortunate people who lost their homes - and would soon lose their lives, if he didn’t do something about it. 

“Weeves?” Rex knelt down to Weevil’s eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody can save these people… except me…” The ground underneath Weevil began to quake. His heart raced uncontrollably fast, and a red-and-purple aura emanated from it.

“Weeves, snap out of it!” Rex seized Weevil’s shoulders as the bug duelist fell deeper into his trance.

“Leave me alone!” Weevil shoved Rex off of him. He hadn’t fully shifted since last year’s Halloween Tournament, but was fully prepared to do it to save his boyfriend’s home. “You guys need to stay behind!”

“Weevil, don’t do it!” Ptera cried. “You can’t face them all by yourself!”

“...Actually, Mom, he can.” Rex watched as once again, Weevil transformed into Earthbound God Uru. Only this time, rather than causing harmless mischief, Weevil had every intent to kill any monster who would dare oppose him. Just the presence of his spider form, looming over his enemies larger than even KaibaCorp Tower, intimidated foe and friend alike.

“M-Master Weevil!” Adelaide couldn’t believe it. “What is happening to you?”

“Leave my home alone, you bastards!” Weevil shot a string of spider webs at the enemies who attacked him.

“Gaaah!” Two of the enemies fell to their deaths.

“He’s… something else, isn’t he?” Spinos observed.

“You know it…” Rex could only sit there and watch his boyfriend wreck havoc on his enemies, and hope that Weevil wouldn’t completely lose his mind out there.

“Wait, where’s Amber?” Tricera asked after a brief look in the house. “She’s gone!”

“I didn’t see her in the backyard, either!” spoke Ptera.

“Oh… Oh, no…” Rex’s good mood faded. “Did she get captured?”

The apparent leader of these enemies, Cyber Dragon Infinity, answered, “No, but I’m about to capture your precious little boyfriend! Who, by the way, isn’t looking so good over there.”

“It’s… happening again…” Weevil stared at the blood on his spider legs, and the blood he shed throughout the concrete. “I… have killed someone… again…”

“Well, why don’t we put you out of your misery, eh?” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underling, an Armored Bee, “Activate your special ability!”

“With pleasure!” The Armored Bee rushed at Weevil full-speed, shouting, “Poison Stinger!”

“Ah… I feel… weak…” Weevil passed out and shifted to human form.

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked down upon Rex and his family. “Some ‘almighty, powerful Earthbound God,’ huh?”

Rex stepped forward, and already he half-shifted. “I’ll show you yet…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Cyber Dragon Infinity cackled as Rex transformed. “Do you, the puny Creepy Coney, honestly think that you can take down a monster as strong as I? By yourself? Hah! Your brain must be smaller than that of an actual rabbit!”

“Shut up!” Rex charged, only to be blown back rather easily by the Armored Bee and forced to revert forms. “O-Ow!!” he cried in pain while rubbing his belly.

“Rex!” Ptera knelt to her son’s side and cried. “You fucking idiot! Why did you do that?”

“Now that Uru is out of my way, there’s nothing standing in between your ruddy home and I! Die, the lot of you!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity couldn’t even begin to charge his attack, when out of nowhere, a shapeshifter with white-and-pink wings flew onto the scene. “You will do no such thing!” she declared as she shot an arrow at the Armored Bee, killing it instantly.

Rex already knew who this shapeshifter was. “Amber! There you are!”

“Leave my family alone!” Amber continued to shoot arrows at Cyber Dragon Infinity.

“You… You are…” Cyber Dragon Infinity was truly scared, yet tried to fend off Amber with attacks of his own - but not without sustaining severe injuries himself. “Pah! I don’t give two figs who you are! You’re severely outnumbered! Here, why don’t I give you a fresh reminder of that?” The dragon shot a quick beam of light, nicking Amber’s wings.

“Yeooooow!” Amber retracted her wings as she fell back to the ground. Though she was too weak to even half-shift, that didn’t stop her from pursuing Cyber Dragon Infinity. “Give Weevil back this instant!”

“Hmm… How about no? I’m not going to waste the little energy I have left on a monster that is clearly stronger than me. You get to keep your heads and your home for today! Be thankful!”

And with that, Cyber Dragon Infinity flew off with Weevil in tow.

“Tch!” Amber turned her attention to Rex. “Why, oh gods, why, Rex? Why did you attack an enemy that is clearly stronger than you?”

“That’s just the Raptor way, haha…” Rex had strength to stand up by himself. “...Wait. Amber? Is that you?”

Amber now had long mint-green hair with lavender sideburns and bowl-cut bangs. Her pupils were small and indigo. Rex didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than ever before. “It, um… seems my wig and contacts came off during that fight.”

“Amber…” Rex walked up to Amber to get a better look at her face. “Who are you, really?”

“I have lied to you all this time, Rex… Forgive me.” Amber calmed down a little before she began to explain herself. “So you know how you time travelled to the past with the pharaoh? I have done the same thing… I come from the future - a ruined future. I’m here to prevent that future from happening.”

“Uh-huh.” After all he had been through with Atem and Kaiba, Rex believed every word Amber said. Still, he found it curious that people could travel from the future. He thought that Amber would have had it all over there - the best technology, the toughest opponents, and the strongest cards. If she wanted to escape that, then something truly messed up must have happened.

“Everyone I know from that future is dead… My kid brother… My boyfriend… Even my mother!” Amber teared up. “Everyone I knew! They… They all died trying to protect me!”

“Amber…” Rex rubbed Amber’s back. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but… I really am sorry.”

“But now… I can see you again… You’re alive, Papa!”

Rex’s eyes opened wide. “What did you just call me?”

“I’m not just Amber… I’m Ambrosia Camellia Ptera Raptor, the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor.” Amber lightly touched Rex’s baby bump. “I’m your daughter from the future!”

“So… _that_ explains why you know about Mom, and about shapeshifters…” Rex began to cry too. “Forgive me, my daughter… You deserved better from me than one bow and a world of troubles… I’m sorry.”

Amber could finally release her emotions that she kept bottled up since her mother’s death. “Papa! Oh my gods, Papa…” she cried loudly into Rex’s chest. “I… I never thought that I could hug you again… You’re alive and breathing! I can’t… I can’t believe it!”

“Shh… I’m here, Amber…” Rex ran his fingers through his future daughter’s hair and wiped away some of her tears.

“You’re… breathing…” Amber held her ear to Rex’s chest to hear his heart beating. “And… you’re alive… This is… Oh, my gods… I'm sorry, I'm just so happy right now.”

“There, there…” Rex smiled while he cried. “We’re going to save your father, too. Or… Hold on a second.”

“Yes?” Amber stopped crying and looked at Rex curiously.

“ _Weevil_ is the father, right?”

“Uh-huh. That would make you my mother.”

“I knew it…” Rex shook his head. “I wonder if I’m going to bottom for him again. Not that I would mind that…”

“Come on, Papa, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it!” Amber laughed and poked Rex’s cheek. 

Still feeling confused about everything that had happened, Ptera spoke up. “So… that makes you my granddaughter, doesn’t it? You’re the little baby Rex is carrying.”

“That’s right.”

“First this time travelling, then this whole shapeshifter thing…” Spinos spoke. “I have made many discoveries as a paleontologist, but this one really takes the cake.”

“Why are you still here, scumbag?” Ptera growled.

“Please, Grandma…” Amber begged. “I know what Grandpa did was unforgivable, but in my future, he died protecting both you and me. I ask that you give him a chance.”

“I ask the same,” Rex concurred. “It was Dad who told me about the doctor, and if it wasn’t for him, I would have no idea how to care for my daughter… for baby Amber.”

“Hmph!” Ptera still wasn’t wholly comfortable with this idea. “Fine. Since we’re both interested in Rex’s safety, I’ll cooperate with you. But do not expect to ever become friends with me. EVER.”

“Thank you so much, Ptera… No matter how long it takes, I’ll do what I can to earn your trust once again.”

“So what do we do now?” Tricera questioned. “Weevil has been kidnapped, and there are monsters roaming the city… We’ve got quite a matter on our hands.”

“I know of a club who can help stop this mess,” replied Amber. “But I ask anyone who’s not a shifter to stay behind, for your own safety.”

“No!” Adelaide refused. “After all Master Weevil has done for me, I can’t just leave him alone, suffering in gods know where… I’m coming, too!”

“Weevil is part of my family, too,” Ptera declared. “We’re all in this together.”

“And I’m sure this is a really good reason to call off of work,” Tricera added. “It’s times like these that remind me why I’m thankful to be a reputable employee.”

“Nana…” 

“It feels a bit weird being called that, I gotta say.”

“Well, what I gotta say is how damned proud I am that you’re named after me!” Ptera laughed. “I mean, I wish you took my given name, but I guess I’ll settle for middle name.”

“Hahaha!” Amber already began to walk in the direction of the university. “Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go save Daddy!”

“Wait, Amber, before we go…”

“Yes, Papa?”

Rex pulled out his flip phone. “Let’s meet at the café first. If things are as serious as you say, then we need all the help we can get.”


	18. No Time For Pleasantries

Chapter 18 - No Time For Pleasantries

Though Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Téa were with him this time, Joey still felt nervous around Mai. Despite all the dates they had been on, and despite encouragement from Espa Roba et al., he didn’t have the heart to confess to her.  _ When is Rex going to get here? _ he thought as his “Dweeb Patrol” waited for Rex at their usual café.

“Joey, do you have something on your mind?” Mai asked; she had been staring at Joey all the while, hoping that the thickheaded duelist would take a hint.

“N-Nothing! Everything’s just fine.”

Joey had never sounded this flustered before, much to his sister’s amusement. Serenity whispered to Téa, “Nii-chan is really bad at talking to women, isn’t he?”

“Just give him time, he’ll get it,” Téa assured.

“He’s been trying to ‘get it’ for several months now,” Duke complained. “Also, if this is supposed to be a date, then why are  _ we _ here?”

“D-Duke!” Joey tried to cover Duke’s mouth. “Well, to answer your question-”

“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” Rex shouted from the distance. 

“It’s about time!” Joey was secretly thankful for Rex’s timely arrival; he had no doubt that Duke would have “forced” him to confess to Mai if he didn’t come when he did. “Well, well, well. There are a lot more of you here than I thought there would be. Not that that’s gonna be a problem. But, uh… Who  _ are _ all these people?”

“We’re Rex’s parents,” Ptera and Tricera stepped forward while the former glared at Joey. “I’ve heard all about what you did to my son at Duelist Kingdom. If the circumstances weren’t so serious, I’d beat you to a pulp myself.”

“Yeesh… Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” To Rex’s surprise, he recognized Spinos. “Oh, wow, the best professor at Domino City University is here too?”

“I’m Rex’s father.” Spinos shook hands with Joey. “Pleased to meet ya’.” 

“I see the resemblance!”

“I’m Master Weevil’s maid, Adelaide.” Adelaide introduced herself. “I’m rather impressed that you could beat my master at Battle City. You see, he learned to duel because of me.”

“You seem a lot sweeter than him, I’ll give you that. Say, speaking of bug boy- er, speaking of Weevil… Where is he?”

“About that…”

Amber stopped Rex from saying anything more. “He was captured by monsters, and none of us know exactly where he was taken.”

“Oh?” Joey whistled. “Who’s  _ this _ hot chick?”

“You little…!” Mai could say nothing more.

Out of annoyance, Amber half-shifted. “I am Ambrosia Raptor, the proud daughter of Rex Raptor! And if I were you, I’d back off before I shoot an arrow between your eyes. I know what you’ve done to Papa and Daddy, and for that, I can never forgive you!”

“Whoa, take it easy, man!” Tristan stepped forward.

“Amber, calm down.” Rex’s words got Amber to shift back. “I know Joey and I have had a bit of a…  _ past. _ Heck, we’re still rivals. But things are a lot better now. And he’s such a good duelist that he’d be a really big help to us. That’s why I called him!”

“Aww, you acknowledge it!” Joey blushed. 

“Don’t get  _ too _ comfortable just because Papa said a few pretty words about you, hotshot.” Amber snarled.

“Sh-Shall we get going, then?” Téa proposed. “You can lead us to where we need to go, Amber.”

“Finally, someone I’d like to talk to!” Amber’s tone changed completely as the huge party began their walk to the university. “Thank you for showing some mercy to Daddy, even though he’s been really mean to you guys. And my little brother was always a huge fan of yours. He wanted to be an awesome dancer like you.”

“R-Really? In that case, I would love to give him an autograph. When can I meet him?”

“...In my future, he and my boyfriend are…”

“I’m sorry, Amber. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“You’re good.”

“And you had a boyfriend, huh?” Rex smiled in a sly way. “What a lucky guy. He would have made all those idiots from high school jealous for sure.”

“Indeed. I tried to find love after he died. But I realized that my heart was with him the whole time. None of those ‘idiots,’ as you say, could even be half the man my sweet boyfriend was.” Amber sighed, trying to hold back her tears. “I miss him so, so much.”

“Aw, that’s awful. To make it up to you, I’ll definitely get Weevil back for you.”

“Yay!” Amber hugged Rex’s arm. “I can’t wait to see Daddy again!”

“You’re talking about Weevil, right?” Duke asked. “It feels… weird for someone of your age to call him that.”

“Hmph. Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Good going, Duke…” Tristan flicked Duke’s forehead.

While the “Dweeb Patrol” exchanged pleasantries (along with not-so-pleasant words), Weevil still remained out cold and deeply poisoned. Thanks to Weevil’s attacks, only a few of Cyber Dragon Infinity’s minions lived. “Normally I wouldn’t give a damn about some mere lackeys, but… The big boss isn’t going to like  _ this. _ ” He flew in place, ordering his minions, “Everyone, you are not to tell Big Boss what transpired tonight. We have the Earthbound God in our possession, and that’s all he needs to see. If he asks, those who died are ‘out on patrol.’ Is that clear?”

“Crystal!” Cyber Dragon Infinity’s minions exclaimed in chorus.

“Ooh! Ooh! What should we do with the Earthbound God, Boss?” An Ancient Brain bounced in the air.

“Maybe we should… have a little  _ fun _ with him,” cackled a Dark Witch.

“I get dibs, then!” Kuribandit demanded.

“You’re half of the Earthbound God’s size, and you’re not even remotely humanoid! What makes you think  _ you _ get dibs?” Ancient Brain snorted.

“SILENCE!” Cyber Dragon Infinity thundered, knocking back the three bickering monsters. “None of you will have him! He is for the Big Boss and the Big Boss alone… whenever he gets back from his mission. As for what we should do to the Earthbound God… Big Boss never said we couldn’t torture him a little bit!”

“Ngh…” Weevil stirred about, still held in Cyber Dragon Infinity’s claws. “Ugh… You’re not getting away with this, you fiends! You better let me go, or-” Weevil tried in vain to transform, but he was too weak to even half-shift.

“Or what? You’re going to throw all 51 kilograms of yourself at me?” Cyber Dragon Infinity scoffed. “Ooh, I’m soooo scared.”

“Hell, you’re so weak, that even  _ I _ can rough you up! May I, Boss?” Kuribandit asked.

“Go ahead! It’s probably the only time you’ll ever get to damage anything!”

“Yeah! Time to play!” Kuribandit clawed at Weevil’s face.

“Oww! You fucking furball!”

“Now, now, no need to use such naughty language…” Dark Witch spoke and walked seductively before ramming the non-business end of her spear into Weevil’s gut.

“Boo!” Ancient Brain flashed his wand, causing Weevil to see stars.

“Aaaah! I can’t see!” Weevil could feel vertigo setting in, and coughed up a little blood.

“All right, I think Uru has had enough for now…” Cyber Dragon Infinity declared after his three minions tortured Weevil for at least ten minutes. “If we rough him up too bad, then Big Boss won’t find him pleasurable, now will he?”

“Aww, that was too quick,” Kuribandit whined.

“He  _ does _ have a point though. You don’t want to anger Big Boss,” Dark Witch remarked.

“Now, Uru, you’re coming with us.” After blindfolding him, Cyber Dragon Infinity held Weevil tighter in his claws. “You’re going to stay in a nice, cold dungeon until our Big Boss is ready for you.”

“What do you mean, ‘ready?’”

“Come on, you’re a healthy 19-year-old! Use your imagination!” Cyber Dragon Infinity smirked.

It had just dawned upon Weevil just what these goons wanted to do with him. “The fuck I won’t!” 

“ _ Language! _ ” Dark Witch bopped Weevil on the head with the blunt end of her spear.

_ Grr… This poison won’t last forever… And when it wears off, the lot of you will know the true might of an Earthbound God. _

“If you think you’re going to transform into an Earthbound God, well, you’re right.” Cyber Dragon Infinity spoke as they continued on to a lair of some sort. “Good to know that you’re willing to use those powers of yours to kill.”

“Wh-What?!” Weevil felt confused as Cyber Dragon Infinity dropped him to the ground and undid the blindfold. “I’m not-”

“Here.” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underlings to drop a couple of hostages in front of Weevil - a Kiwi Magician Girl and an Iron Knight Gearfried. “Kill these two. And if you even  _ think _ about killing  _ us, _ we won’t hesitate to torture you some more.”

“No way! I refuse!” Weevil spat, narrowly missing the dragon.

“What’s the matter? I thought that the disgraced Weevil Underwood would want to show off how strong he really is!”

“But not for your amusement.”

“Why fear your powers? Well, no matter. We have a way of bringing out the Earthbound God in you.” Cyber Dragon Infinity directed everyone’s attention to the great altar before him. It looked like something straight out of a documentary about the Incan Empire, with elaborately-decorated surrounding walls to match.

Four Earthbound Greater Linewalkers took their spots at each corner of the altar, chanting something in an ancient language.

“Let me go!” Weevil struggled in vain while Cyber Dragon Infinity dragged him and threw him on the altar. Even though he wasn’t physically bound, he still hadn’t recovered from the Armored Bee sting, and felt powerless in human form.

“By the power vested in me!” Cyber Dragon Infinity exclaimed as the Linewalkers’ chants grew louder. “You will awaken once again to fulfill your destiny, Earthbound God Uru!”

“N-No…!” Weevil tried to suppress the urge to transform, but the flame starting in his heart proved to be too strong, thanks to the ritual taking place. “Aaaaaaaaah!”

“Now…” Cyber Dragon Infinity watched with glee as Weevil ran amuck in spider form. “Become the killer you were born to be.”

“Noooooo!” The captives fell to Weevil’s strong legs almost instantly.

“Hah… Hah…” Weevil breathed heavily after he had slain the hostages, and was so exhausted that he turned back into a human.

“Hmph.” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked upon Weevil’s unconscious body and kicked it. “As powerful a god as he may be, he still has little control over his powers. Guards!”

“Sir!” The Linewalkers lined up.

“Take the Earthbound God to the dungeon. Big Boss will be coming soon, and once he does, he’ll have his way with him.”

“Yes, sir!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity laughed while he watched Weevil get carried off. “Hahahaha! Uru is too weak to control his powers, eh? Well, Big Boss will be taking care of  _ that. _ ”


	19. Tiger's Eye

Chapter 19 - Tiger’s Eye

“Joey Wheeler.” Amber suddenly stopped the party when she reached Domino Tabletop Gaming’s meeting room. “For what you did to my parents, you have a lot to make up for. You can start by helping us defeat the monsters.”

“‘Us?’ What do you mean?”

“Phuckdis!” Amber hollered when she opened the doors. There were more club members than ever before. Rex began to think there were more than just students here.“I’ve brought some help!”

“Whom?” Phuckdis didn’t even need to answer that question, for he recognized Joey readily. “So,  _ the _ Joey Wheeler is on our side. That is news to my ears. However did you get him to join us, Amber?”

“I’d… rather not talk about it.” Amber made faces at Joey that Phuckdis didn’t see.

“Well, I’m glad we have extra help now… Especially from one of the monster world’s chosen three.” Phuckdis cleared his throat. “But we’ve waited long enough. It’s time to start the meeting.”

“Order! People, order!” William tried to calm the rambunctious crowd down. Since there were so many new faces today, he couldn’t use his familiarity this time.

“I’d like a pizza with everything on it, please!” a Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North shifter responded.

“Naw, I think we should order Chinese food instead!” A Shiranui Spectralsword played along.

“My dudes, you’re  _ both _ wrong!” an Apple Magician Girl cut in. “We should get  _ Chinese pizza! _ ”

“And what the heck is that supposed to even be?” 

The three continued to squabble, drawing in superfluous comments from the other club members, much to Phuckdis’ aggravation. “How did I amass such an immature army? When will you college kids grow the hell up?”

No matter how Phuckdis and William tried to calm the club down, nothing worked - at least, not until Amber shouted, “Everyone… SHUT UP!”

“Lady Amber…” The Apple Magician girl would have punched Shiranui Spectralsword in the face if Amber didn’t stop her.

“Okay, now that I have your attention… If any of you have seen the news lately, there have been monsters creating chaos throughout Domino City. As of now, we don’t know who could be behind it. If anyone has any suggestions or finds any leads, you need to let us know right away.”

“What about KaibaCorp?” an Assault Wyvern suggested. “Maybe their visual displays have gone awry.”

“In all fairness, that is the most logical conclusion we can make at this time,” Amber agreed. “That has actually been suggested a while ago, but now we know it’s not just an isolated incident.”

“Wait, no it isn’t!” Joey interrupted. “I remember when the Orichalcos and Leviathan came. It was actually KaibaCorp that helped us defeat those monsters! So maybe these new enemies came from another time period, just like you guys have.”

“Wow, Joey, that is probably the most intelligent thing I have ever heard you say,” Mai remarked.

“I’m more impressed that he actually defended Kaiba for once,” Tristan added. “So he’s not the rich boy you used to hate, eh, Joey?”

“Nope, still hate him. I’m just sayin’.”

“We can’t rule out anything.” Amber didn’t want to admit it, but she somewhat agreed with Joey. “Just in case it  _ is _ KaibaCorp, I’m going to dispatch a few soldiers to investigate it. However, because KaibaCorp has state-of-the-art technology, I ask that only our finest soldiers take this mission. Any volunteers?”

“If I may, Amber…” Rex spoke up. “I’m actually friends with Mokuba, the president of KaibaCorp. If you like, I can do it.”

“We know him, too!” spoke Joey. “Mokuba and I go way back! In fact, Mokuba and  _ all _ of us go way back! We’ve fought just about every bad guy to ever walk Domino City with him.”

“And if you send us, we won’t even have to be too sneaky about it,” added Téa. “With any luck, we won’t even need to fight.”

“I… also think he can tell us where Weevil might be,” Rex suggested. “KaibaCorp has GPS, doesn’t it?”

“No shit, Sherlock! Who clued  _ you _ in?” Tristan’s words earned him a glare from Amber. “Uh… I didn’t say that!”

Rex didn’t think that the normally-airheaded Tristan was worth his time. “Mom, guys… Are you coming with?”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay here with your Club. I want to learn more about these people you’re associating with… these shapeshifters.” Spinos, Tricera, and Adelaide all agreed with Ptera.

“Okay, if you say so… Be safe, Mom, Dad.” Rex gave his parents and Adelaide a hug before leading the “Dweeb Patrol” out of the building.

“Do you know the way to KaibaCorp?” Amber asked.

“Of course! Mokuba and I are, like, best beds. Whoa!” Rex barely dodged an incoming taxi cab. It surprised him that it was a taxi he had to dodge and not a monster. “In fact, he helped me study for high school finals. If it wasn’t for him, I would be stuck learning about integrals AGAIN instead of enjoying the college life.”

“I can’t believe you’re friends with  _ the _ Mokuba Kaiba, Papa! And I didn’t know you were so bad math, haha!”

“Shaddap! At least I’m good at P.E.!” Before he knew it, Rex and his “friends” already arrived at KaibaCorp. “Oh. I got so busy professing my hatred of math that I forgot we’re here.”

When Rex knocked on the door, Roland was the one to answer - but he was way friendlier this time. But the kitchen was no less busy. “Hello, Mr. Rex. And… Joey?”

“Long time no see, dude!” Joey waved. “Uh… Whatever your name is.”

“At this point, I’m used to people forgetting.” Roland sighed. “Anyway, guys, come on in. Mr. Mokuba is actually finishing up a meeting and should be ready to meet you shortly. You can wait in the kitchen and have something to eat, if you want.”

Rex led everyone thence, and the scent of milkfish gave him a painful reminder. “Ugh, the milkfish again…”

“‘Again?’” Mai raised an eyebrow.

“When I first came here, the first thing I noticed was that rank smell from the kitchen. I came here to ask Mokuba for help with finals at that time; it was about four months ago.”

“Well, an early pregnancy symptom is an aversion to smells and foods you wouldn’t dislike otherwise.”

“That explains it!” Rex received a plate of chocolate-drizzled takoyaki while everyone else received milkfish. It pleased him to know Mokuba knew his tastes so well. “I can’t believe how far baby Amber and I have come since then.”

“Wine for you?” the head chef offered the table.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Joey took a swig of wine as soon as it landed in his glass.

“I’m not old enough, and even if I were…” Rex pointed to his baby bump.

“I’m simply not old enough,” spoke Amber. “But thank you anyway.”

“And I thank you for being honest,” spoke Mokuba from behind Rex. The young CEO sighed; clearly, whatever he had been working on beforehand had really drained him.

“Hey, what’s up? Work giving you a hard time again?” Rex got up from the dining table and gave Mokuba a hug. “You joining us for dinner?”

“Certainly. And work as the president of a major company is always giving me a hard time. People love to blame me for all of Domino City’s problems, and I can hardly blame them, really.” Mokuba took a seat at the head of the table. “If you are all here, then I take it you have much you wish to discuss. ...Wait a second. Isn’t Weevil normally with you?”

“Yeah, that’s one thing…” Rex clenched his fists. “He got abducted by monsters, and we have no idea where he is.”

“Monsters? Again?”

“You know about them?”

“Do I. Just like when the Orichalcos invaded, the media is blaming KaibaCorp, though we have nothing to do with it. The worst part is that even with our GPS technology, we can’t pinpoint where the monsters are coming from at this time.”

“So that means you don’t know where Weevil is…”

“Rex, I’m sorry. But I can assure you, at least, that this is my problem too. I will do my utmost to help. Not just because the media blame hampers KaibaCorp’s reputation, but also because you’re my friend.”

“Mokuba…”

“In the meantime, I’m worried about you and your baby.”

Rex knew there was no denying the baby bump now. But he did not feel ready to tell Mokuba about future Amber yet. “We’re fine. The doctor said she’s perfectly healthy.”

“And do you have a baby shower coming up?”

“Sort of… It’s on the 20th of October.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot be there. But I do have a present for you nonetheless.” Mokuba got a small box out of his blazer pocket. “They are ambrosia beetle earrings made of tiger’s eye.”

_ I was always wondering where my earrings came from… _ Amber thought.

“Thank you!” Rex accepted the gift with gratitude. “Not only for this present, but also for being so cool to me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’m just wondering how you knew that I’m pregnant with a girl, even before I told you. For that matter, it’s weirding me out how nice to me you’ve been, despite all I’ve done. Most people wouldn’t be showering a disrespected duelist with gifts and his favourite food.”

“...” Mokuba suddenly stopped talking. “It was just a lucky guess. And I also know how to forgive and forget.”

“Mokuba, I don’t know how I can thank you for all of this… May our friendship never end.”


	20. The Blame Game

Chapter 20 - The Blame Game

~30 September 2005, 20:00~ 

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity stared down at Weevil after hitting him with his tail. “To think that Big Boss will come soon! I think he will love your look right now, Uru.”

Weevil didn’t bother to correct him. With a bloodied-up face, he looked up at the dragon. “Who is this ‘Big Boss’ you keep going on about?”

“You’ll get a chance to meet him soon. Hahahaha!”

Just then, Weevil could feel his strength returning as the Armored Bee poison began to wear off. “You sure about that?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you’re incompetent as hell, that’s why.” The ground underneath Weevil shook, and the brand on his heart glowed.

“Oh, sh--” Cyber Dragon Infinity soon realized that Weevil was about to transform, the fear of his powers be damned. “Where are the Armored Bees?”

“Boss, they’re all out on patrol, looking for Uru’s allies!”

“Well, go get them, you fuckers! Big Boss is coming!”

“Yes, sir!” With that, Cyber Dragon Infinity’s three closest allies flew off.

As soon as they did, however, Weevil stood tall in spider form. “Move it, you loser!”

“Get back here, Uru!” Cyber Dragon Infinity tried in vain to attack Weevil, but the bug duelist instead attacked him - and did so successfully. “Ow, you son of a bitch-”

“What was that?” spoke a voice from behind.

“Aah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity turned around to see a giant gorgon-like monster behind him. “Big Boss, I didn’t see you there.”

“A little bird - yours, in fact - told me that Earthbound God Uru is with you. So where is he?” Big Boss quickly grew impatient. “I want to fuck him, now!”

“Y-Yes, well… I’ll get on it-”

“No! I gave you so many chances. Now you will pay - with your life!” Big Boss readied a great laser beam.

“Big Boss, wait- Aaaaaaah!” So wailed Cyber Dragon Infinity as he perished.

“Uru, you’re growing so strong… Just you wait.” Big Boss half-shifted and sprouted dragon’s wings. “You cannot unwrite what is already written! You’ll be mine, whether you like it or not!””

Big Boss flew off into the deserted hallway, prepared to kill anyone who happened to spot him. Weevil, debilitated and shaken, barely ducked behind a wall in time to avoid this fearsome foe. “Ngh…” Though he could feel his physical strength gradually return, he feared that each step forward to the Tabletop Gaming Club’s meeting room could mean a step closer to transforming again. “No. I… I have to see… my love again.”

* * *

After a month of investigating, Amber and Rex could conclude that KaibaCorp was not to blame for these recent monster attacks. But that didn’t stop the media from blaming KaibaCorp, just as they did when the Orichalcos monsters invaded. It didn’t help that even after a whole month, nobody knew just where these monsters came from, or who their leader was. 

Mokuba had finally had enough, and had called a meeting with Roland and his other trusted officials. “We need to find out the cause of the monster attacks, Mr. Mokuba!” Roland exclaimed as he banged a fist on the table. “Maybe we can work with… what was his name, Joey Wheeler? He and his friends helped us the last time the media put undue blame on KaibaCorp.”

“If I may, Mr. Mokuba…” another official spoke, “Several…  _ odd _ individuals have been spotted in a club at Domino City University. A club that masquerades as a ‘tabletop gaming club,’ to be exact. I’m fairly sure they are to blame for all of this!”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Mokuba got up from the conference room table.

“There’s just one problem… This club only meets twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As you know, most of our important KaibaCorp meetings occur on those days.”

“I know that ‘most’ of them are. But surely there is a Tuesday or Thursday that I have free? Can you check?”

“Let’s see…” Roland scrolled through a calendar on a tablet. “Ah, yes, on October 30.”

“Then on that day, we will infiltrate that club and finally put a stop to the media blame. Meeting adjourned!”

Meanwhile, Amber returned from yet another frustrating search for her father. Not only that, she was injured, but ignored her injuries. Her platoon had suffered minor casualties, and would have suffered more if they had run into anything stronger than a Serpent Night Dragon. “Dammit! These monsters are weak, but there are too damned many of them!”

“So what’s your next course of action, Commander?” William asked. While Amber searched for Weevil, he and Phuckdis were tasked with locating the enemy headquarters. They had just returned from this mission with no information and too many injuries to count.

“Going out there on fruitless searches when we’re all so exhausted will not help any of us. For now, the enemy’s numbers seem to be at a minimum. Before the attacks get worse, we need to rest and continue the mission only when we’re at full strength. While we’re in the safety of our headquarters, we need to come up with some more concrete strategies.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ah, Amber.” Phuckdis greeting his ally with a hug, after which healers got to work on Amber right away. “Perfect timing. There’s someone here that I think you want to see.”

“Hmm?” Amber looked past Phuckdis’ shoulder - and was pleasantly surprised to see Weevil. “Is that you, Daddy?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I’m too young to be a- Whoa!”

“Daddy! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Amber hugged Weevil, twirled around, and peppered his cheeks with kisses.

“Rex?” Weevil looked at his boyfriend. “Care to explain what’s going on, hun?”

“Yeah… Amber is our daughter from the future. Just look at her hair and eyes.”

“She looks almost exactly like me…” Weevil stroked and played with Amber’s hair. “Right down to my bowl cut and hair colour.”

“And I use an insect deck just like yours!” Amber proclaimed proudly, hugging Weevil’s arm tighter. “If you’re the Insect Queen, then I’m your little princess!”

“Hehe…” Weevil stuck out his tongue at Rex while Amber wasn’t looking. “In your face, dino breath.”

“Oh, so it’s dino  _ breath _ now?” Rex was disappointed that Amber turned out to be not like him at all, but Weevil being safe and sound was more than enough to make up for it. “Well, I’m glad you’re back, baby.”

“I’m glad, too…”

Amber could notice Weevil trembling in their group hug. “Daddy? What’s wrong? Does it have to do with the bad guys who captured you?”

“Yes. I… I can still remember how…”

Phuckdis was about to adjourn the meeting, but had stopped when Weevil spoke up, and gathered the Club army around Weevil. “Weevil, you must tell us everything you know.”

“Their leader is a powerful monster called Cyber Dragon Infinity. Most of the monsters at his command are fiend types, including four monsters called Earthbound Greater Linewalkers. What they did to me… They… They performed an ancient ritual and forced me to transform into Earthbound God Uru. They had me kill a Kiwi Magician Girl and an Iron Knight Gearfried.”

“Weeves…” 

“Do you know where their hideout is?” William asked.

Weevil only continued when Rex knelt down to hug him. “No, I’m afraid. However, their “club meeting” room looks like an Incan temple, with an altar on which they performed this ritual.”

“I see…” Phuckdis pondered this new information. “Thank you. That actually helps a lot. In that case, meeting adjourned.”

Amber turned to Weevil. “Let’s both protect Papa and give those bad guys what for, okay, Daddy?”

“You got it!” Weevil gave his daughter a high five.

_ I don’t need protecting, thanks! _ Rex thought as he stomped out of the meeting room, with Weevil following right after him.

Amber would have followed, too, if she didn’t overhear William and Phuckdis discussing what Weevil just told them. “Brother, those were two of our best soldiers. He’s more dangerous than we thought.”

“I agree. Cyber Dragon Infinity’s special effects are some of the most challenging ones I’ve ever heard of.”

“Yes, but I speak of Weevil specifically. If we do not complete our mission soon and keep that boy’s power in check… Domino City will likely be no more. We have to do something before he goes berserk.”

“Agreed. But let’s retire for the night. Even this war cannot distract us from the fact that we are still students.”

“Eep!” Amber hid herself behind a wall as Phuckdis and William passed by. “The mission, huh…”

As the month drew on, Amber would end up dueling her father - and winning - often. With that many wins, the bug duelist received many challenges from her schoolmates, and even some professors. But after asking what kinds of decks they used (one even dared to challenge her with her least favourite archetype, the Aroma archetype), she decided that such duelists weren’t worth the effort. 

She instead turned her energy to her studies, and to thinking of what to get for Rex’s baby shower today. She settled on a tiny pair of sneakers with insects on them.  _ What kind of loser buys presents for their own parties? _ Amber thought as she barely arrived in time to this baby shower. To make up for her tardiness, she decided to entertain her party guests with a duel against Weevil. Her father had a clear upper hand against her, until she decided to use Cocoon of Ultra Evolution’s effect to tribute Weevil’s Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, summoning Grasschopper to win the duel.

“Phew! I just can’t seem to beat you, Amber!” Weevil laughed, despite losing yet again, and took a seat on the bench next to his boyfriend. 

“I feel kind of bad for doing what I did to your Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, though…” Amber took a seat on that bench too. 

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because that was the monster my little brother could transform into. He couldn’t transform at will like we can; he’d have to dance for six straight minutes.”

“That’s interesting, and fitting,” Téa remarked. “I hope my dances can have that kind of mesmerizing effect on my viewers someday.”

“Our daughter has inherited both my deck and my dueling skills. I honestly don’t think she inherited anything from you, dino brain.”

“Hey, I’m a good duelist too!” Rex huffed.

“So…” Having been apart from Camellia for over a decade, Adelaide was not sure what to say to her former mistress. “That young lady is your granddaughter from the future?”

“I think so. First, I meet my son in the unlikeliest of places. Then, I find out about ‘time travellers’ and ‘shapeshifters…’ Just what has Weevil been doing all these years?”

“I’d like to know that as well. There’s still so much I have to learn about Master Weevil.”

“...” Camellia didn’t know what to say to anyone present at the party, especially an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while, and awkwardly sipped her margarita.

Rex noticed the awkward tension between Adelaide and Camellia.  _ Well, I certainly see where Weevil gets his introversion from. _

“You want to duel  _ me,  _ Amber?” Joey sounded confident in himself.

“When you didn’t even bring your deck?”

“Oh… Then, uh, at Club?”

“I’ll swat you down! Then you’ll give me back Insect Queen and Red-Eyes.” 

“Don’t worry, Amber. Your Papa already has another copy, and I have the Queen’s metamorphosed form.”

“For that matter, I need to defeat that Espa Roba. I want Serpent Night Dragon back.”

“You really love your parents, don’t you?” Joey smiled. “You love them so much that you want to get back at everyone who did them wrong. I wish I had that kind of a relationship with my father. You’re a lucky gal.”

“...Still hate you.” Amber pouted.

“I understand. But I hope we can gain a mutual respect for one another someday.”

“It’s hard to imagine that just three years ago, I was trying to steal your soul,” Rex said to Joey as he looked at the cloudless sky. Orange leaves from the nearest tree fell and tickled his nose. “I never thought that I could call you a friend and worthy rival.”

“Likewise.” Joey patted Rex on the shoulder. “I wish it was me who tag dueled with you instead of rich boy.”

“Kaiba… Atem…” The nostalgia of his first time travel brought tears to Rex’s eyes. “This is where it all began. The time travel… The war we fought… A fated tag duel...”

“Honey…”

Rex held Weevil’s hand even tighter. “But more than any of that, it was this time travel that finally gave me the courage to profess a 3-year love to the man I love.”

Amber snapped out of her bad mood. “Aww, that’s so romantic, Papa!”

“And it was also this same time travel in which certain top contenders from regionals lost their virginity to each other.” Rex smirked recalling this tale while everyone who was drinking something spat out their drinks. “In Atem’s palace hospital, if I might add.”

“Ugh, did we really have to know that?” Duke, having been absent from this time travel, was confused as it was.

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Amber buried her face in her hands.

“I concur.” Weevil wanted to sink into the ground, and he should have known that Rex would be brash enough to discuss their sex life so openly.

“So while my other self and his court discussed how to take down Anubis, you guys decided to get laid in his palace.” Yugi shook his head. “That’s just plain weird.”

Before Spinos could say his piece, he noticed an unopened present on the table. “Rex? You forgot a present.”

“Hmm? I thought I opened them all,” Rex mused as Spinos gave him the present. 

“I think I know what it is.” As Rex opened the present, Amber recalled what Mokuba said about it.

“These are so pretty!” Rex beamed at the tiger’s eye earrings.

“They also look familiar…” Weevil’s gaze went from the earrings in the box, then to Amber’s earrings. “So your earrings came from Mokuba, eh? Interesting.”

“They… They did?” Spinos asked.

“Why, do you know him personally, Dad?”

“I’m… uh…” Spinos didn’t know what to say, even though he was a skilled professor. “I’m just thankful, I guess. Mokuba has all the money in the world, yet chooses to spare some of it for a child of someone he barely knows. I just wish I could meet the kid myself.”

“Actually, I’m not someone Mokuba ‘barely knows.’ We’re friends now.”

“Oh, wait!” Joey fished around in his pockets, and sure enough, he found his deck. “I actually do have my deck!”

“Dumbass.” Amber facepalmed before standing up again. “Come on, hotshot, bring it on.”

_ Dad… _ As Joey and Amber started their already-intense duel, Rex looked at his worried father.  _ There’s still a lot more to you than you’re telling us, isn’t there? _


	21. A Repeat of History

Chapter 21 - A Repeat of History

~21 October 2005~ 

“Rex!” Ptera called as she saw Rex in his room, sprawled on the bed. “You have an ancient history test on Thursday, don’t you? Shouldn’t you be studying?”

It was the Sunday after the baby shower, and after admiring the gifts he received, Rex didn’t want to leave his room, let alone to study. He was so proud of the improvement in his study habits since high school that he felt he deserved a break for today. “Naw, I got this test locked and loaded, man!” Rex gave his mother a thumbs-up before falling asleep.

“Oh, well.” After a long week at work, Ptera felt thankful for this day off, but didn’t really feel like going anywhere today. She absentmindedly flipped the channels on the T.V., landing on a cooking show. The show’s host cooked a variety of Mexican dishes, reminding Ptera of her dream to be on the show one day. “That boy has been working too hard, even when he’s with child.”

“Babe?” Tricera had the day off as well, and wanted nothing more than to spend it loafing around the house with her wife. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m just thinking of how our son reminds me of when I was pregnant with  _ him. _ He’s going to be a great mom like me, you’ll see.” Ptera let Tricera curl up with her on the living room sofa. “Can you believe that in a little more than two months, we’re going to have a little baby girl running around the house?”

“If a newborn baby can run around in our tiny home, then that’s something to tell the news!”

“That’s true. Haha!” Ptera’s smile faded when she remembered what the news had mostly been about the past few weeks. “I’m scared, though… What if those monsters find Rex and… Well, you know.”

“Come on, babe, it’s not like you to get this sad!” Tricera flicked Ptera on the nose.

Weevil cut in, “And even if they  _ did _ find him, they don’t stand a chance against me.”

“Or me!” added Amber.

“Amber… Weevil… Are you sure you guys don’t want to lounge around the house with us?” Tricera asked. “I’m especially worried about you, Weevil. You don’t like to transform, do you?”

“No, but it’s something I’m willing to go through for the sake of my family.”

“But even Adelaide has the day off and has decided to nap all day. Or so she says, haha!” Ptera remarked.

“No can do. Daddy and I are going to scout for the enemy’s stronghold. You’ll never know when they’ll strike!”

“But education is just as important as saving the world.”

“I know, Nana. That’s why Daddy and I got all our homework done on Friday. We’re ahead on our projects and studying, too.”

Ptera got up from the sofa and hugged Amber. “But… What if something happens to you out there? And we just found Weevil… I don’t think Rex or I can bear it if he gets captured again.”

“Did you forget that we’re powerful monsters? Please… I want to protect my family. Have faith in Daddy and me.”

“Amber…” Ptera hugged her granddaughter tighter. “Okay, but be careful! If you get injured, you’re to come home right away!”

“Yes, Grandma. Now we’re off!” As soon as Amber and Weevil exited the door, the young woman half-shifted and hovered in the air. The pleasant autumn breeze blew past, making her flying effortless. “Hehehe…”

“What could possibly be funny at a time like this?” Weevil asked as the two entered the city proper.

“It’s just… I can fly and you can’t!” Amber teased as if she and Weevil were in kindergarten.

“Well,  _ I’m _ an all-powerful god and you aren’t! You’re… You’re just some...” Weevil teased back with the same tone. “Say, what monster are you, anyway?”

“I think I want to save the surprise for when the time really counts.” Amber winked. “But I’ll give you a hint: I’m a rabbit monster like Papa.”

“Some hint.” Weevil scoffed. “Did you ever spar with me or your mother in your future?”

“Oh, yes, plenty of times. But I’ve only ever needed to fully shift… when…” Amber landed on a patch of grass, as her new tears prevented her from seeing the path ahead.

“Amber, I’m sorry.” Weevil hugged her. “I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not that important, anyway. You’re here, right now to change your ruined future, and that’s what matters.”

“Daddy…” Amber would have cried longer, but she noticed a few insects crawl on the park grass - all of which she recognized. She squatted to get a better look. “Look at all the cute bugs! I’ve never seen such a variety of them in one place! Maybe we should come here more often, hehe.”

“Oh?” Weevil looked at the spot in the ground Amber stared at, and picked up one of the bugs. “This is a strawberry blossom weevil. There aren’t any strawberry plants around here… I can’t imagine how this little guy got here.”

“It’s also called  _ Anthonomus rubi,  _ and the bug after which you’re named.” Amber picked up one of the other bugs in the ground. “This one is  _ Austroplatypus incompertus, _ an ambrosia beetle after which I’m named. It’s weird, though… It’s native to Australia. This fella sure travelled a long way from home.” Amber looked at the bug on her finger. “We’re like birds of a feather, you and I.”

“You really  _ are _ like me, aren’t you?” Weevil put the strawberry blossom weevil back in the grass, as Amber did the same with the ambrosia beetle. “You know so much about insects… You’ve inherited my looks, smarts, and deck. I don’t think you’ve inherited anything from your mother.”

“But I’m headstrong like Papa!” Amber laughed, perking up her sideburns. “And I’ve got his sideburns and eyes!”

“And you’ve even inherited my laugh!” Weevil laughed back in a similar way.

“Sigh... I wish we didn’t have a mission to go on.” Amber sat down, letting a few more bugs crawl on her finger. She admired the happy, peaceful atmosphere, knowing well that it would be short-lived. “This war is taking its toll on me, as if being a college student weren’t stressful enough. I wish we didn’t have to call the ‘Dweeb Patrol’ to help take down a couple of bad guys.”

“But we don’t. We’re more than enough to defeat the bad guys. Plus, I’m happy I got to spend more quality time with my daughter in a way that doesn’t involve dueling.”

“Oh, Daddy!” Amber glomped Weevil and kissed his cheek. “I love you soooo much!”

“I love you too, Amber.” Weevil ruffled his daughter’s hair.

“Aww, you’re such a daddy’s girl, aren’t you,” spoke an intruding stranger, with a posse of hooded figures behind him.

“Huh? What do  _ you _ want?” Weevil asked.

“As a not-so-wise man once said, ‘I’m just in the mood for a friendly duel!’” The stranger’s cohorts came out. “Except it won’t be a duel, and it certainly won’t be friendly!”

It didn’t take Amber long to half-shift. “Leave Daddy and me alone, you bastards!”

Weevil stepped forward as the ground shook. “You will leave my daughter alone, or know the full might of an Earthbound God.”

“Yeah? Go ahead and try, Uru. You’re severely outnumbered!” This intruder revealed himself to be Graydle Dragon. “And, uh… You maaaay or may not go berserk and kill both friend and foe. Just thought I’d throw that out there.”

“Fuck that noise!” Amber took to the air and shot an arrow at Graydle Dragon.

“What’s the matter? Too scared to fully shift?” Graydle Dragon provoked Amber as they fought. “Too scared of a repeat of history?”

“Shut… up…” Amber’s arrows began to miss.

“Amber!” Weevil had to struggle against a few dragon monsters.  _ No… I can’t let anything bad happen to Amber… Not after we just started bonding as father and daughter! _

“Yes…” Graydle Dragon smirked when the earth began to shake. “Go ahead, unleash the god in you. Or let your daughter die against a much stronger monster - me. I don’t give a shit either way, but do make up your mind soon, will you? I’m getting bored.”

“Really? Well, then, allow me to fix that!” shouted a duelist from the distance.

“What in the-” Weevil abruptly halted his transformation, looking for who had decided to intervene in this fight. 

“Oh-ho!” Graydle Dragon smirked at the hooded man who wore his Duel Disk, a Red Dragon Archfiend in front of him. “I didn’t know that the disgraced Weevil Underwood still had fans!”

“You know it! Red Dragon Archfiend, attack!” the hooded duelist commanded. 

“Waaaaah!” Graydle Dragon couldn’t fend off the barrage of attacks from both Red Dragon Archfiend and Amber. “Where are the Armored Bees this time?”

“They’re… uh, gone…” An Assault Wyvern flew off with more of Graydle Dragon’s cohorts, knowing that this battle was as good as lost.

“Dammit! Why do those fuckers always disappear at the most inconvenient- Aaaaaah!” And so Graydle Dragon faded into nothingness.

“Well, we won’t be hearing from  _ him _ again. Hahaha!” The hooded figure deactivated his Duel Disk, and turned to talk to Amber. “Are you two all right?”

“Yeah, I guess…” Weevil still trembled. “Thank you, Mr… Uh, pardon me, but what’s your name?”

“Ah, yes, I guess I owe you that much.” The duelist removed his hood, revealing himself as the president of Domino’s Finest. “My name is Watda Hel. I’m pleased to meet you, salutatorian of Domino City High School.”

“Grr…” Amber didn’t like seeing Watda helping Weevil get off the ground. “You’re sure getting awfully friendly with Daddy.”

“Amber, this man just saved our lives. You should be thankful.”

“Y-Yes, Daddy.” 

Weevil turned to Watda. “As a token of my gratitude, I’ll treat you to some food from this amazing café I frequent.”

Amber didn’t want to spend another minute near Watda, and fished for an excuse to go home. “I… uh, just remembered that I forgot to add my Works Cited to my freshman comp essay. I’ll go finish that up, then join you at the café. I might even be able to persuade Papa to come.”

“See you then, sweetie.” Weevil kissed Amber on the cheek before letting her walk off. “Now, then, shall we get going?”

“I agree.” Watda only allowed few minutes of silence to pass before he began to speak. “You should have used your Duel Disk in that fight. As strong as a monster as you are, you should refrain from using your shapeshifting powers unless there is no other option.”

“I would have, but my daughter and I were ambushed.” As he and Watda walked into the city proper, Weevil noticed the people bustling about, as if no monster attacks had ever happened. “And what do you know about shapeshifting powers? Don’t tell me you’re a shifter yourself?”

“I am, actually.” Watda opened the door to the café, which somehow proved to be busier than most other places in Domino City, save for the university. He whispered close to Weevil’s ear, “Don’t tell anyone, but I can transform into the formidable Red Nova Dragon, one of the strongest cards in Duel Monsters.”

“And I’m Earthbound God Uru, an even more formidable monster,” Weevil whispered back. While walking to a table and waiting to be served, he looked around the many patrons. He saw that they consisted almost entirely of couples, with a few studying students sitting by the sunlit windows.  _ Maybe I picked a bad time to come here, but there’s no turning back now, I suppose. _

Watda noticed Weevil’s reluctance to look him in the eye. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m always willing to lend an ear to a fellow intellectual.”

Weevil was too proud to openly admit he was an introvert. “Um… Well, I was just wondering about what you said just now.” He paused for a sip of tea. “You could have transformed and really wrecked havoc back there.”

“And  _ you _ could have, too?” Watda stared at Weevil with curious red eyes. 

“Y-Yeah… Point taken.” Weevil fidgeted in his seat.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but we strong shapeshifters become very exhausted after using our powers. That’s why we almost exclusively use our decks unless the situation demands otherwise.”

“And… um… are you afraid at all of going berserk?”

Watda poured himself another cup of tea. “I actually have, once. I’ve accidentally killed my entire family as a result.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Hey, don’t be.” Watda chuckled before taking a sip of his own tea. “I’ve learned how to control my powers, thanks to my fellow members of Domino’s Finest. That’s why I’m here today. And if you join us, you can learn to prevent people from dying… specifically your boyfriend, Rex. Not just from the monsters, but also from childbirth. You see, our club isn’t just for high I.Q. people. We have members far stronger than anyone in the Tabletop Gaming Club.”

“Is that so? Is it possible to learn this power?” 

“Not from the Tabletop Gaming Club. I invite you to join us during our meetings, which run at 19:00 every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“But that’s when the Tabletop Gaming Club meets.”

“You can alternate between clubs if you need to, and you don’t have to be a full-fledged member of the Finest if you don’t want.” Watda looked over his shoulder, noticing Rex and Amber at the café door. He didn’t want to be caught with Weevil when the pair came in, so he tried to wrap up their conversation. “All you need to really know can be attained in, say, four or five meetings.”

“Hey, Weeves!” Rex called out, reaching the table just before Watda could flee. He instantly bristled upon seeing him. “What do you think you’re doing here with my boyfriend, scumbag?”

“Hehehe, none of your business.” So spoke Watda as he left a tip on the table before leaving.

“How rude!” Rex huffed, sitting down at the table with Weevil. “I drag my 30-week pregnant ass out here, just to see you flirting with someone else. You better not be cheating on me.”

“Am I not allowed to have platonic dates with my friends?”

“...” Rex had to admit Weevil was right. “So what were you talking about?”

“He invited me to a Domino’s Finest meeting.”

“Bahahaha!” Amber spat out the coffee she drank. “He can’t be serious? But you’ve turned him down already!”

“He’s bad news, Weeves. I say you shouldn’t go.”

“Hehehe… I won’t.” Despite what Weevil said, he had to admit that Watda’s grand promises were very tempting.


	22. Wish on a Fountain

Chapter 22 - Wish on a Fountain

~21 October 2005~

“And then I really beat that duelist to a pulp!” Amber bragged to Rex while they shared biscotti and a teapot with Weevil. By this point, the traffic in the café somehow got busier, and the sun began to set. “I never thought I’d beat an Aroma deck, but I finally managed to do it last week.”

“That’s my girl.” Rex ruffled Amber’s hair. “I think you might be a better duelist than either me or your father.”

“Daddy, have you ever faced an Aroma deck? Isn’t it the most annoying thing ever?”

“...” Weevil stared absentmindedly out the window as the sunlight nearly lulled him to sleep.

“Daddy?” Amber brushed her hand underneath Weevil’s bangs. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Weevil blinked. “I’m sorry, I spaced out for a second there. You said something about an Aroma deck?”

“It was more like many, many seconds.” Amber frowned. “And I’ve been noticing it in

class, too. It’s all that… that  _ Watda’s _ fault.”

“Weeves…” Rex wasn’t ashamed to hold Weevil’s hand above the table. “Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to see a doctor. We can go today, if you want.”

“What? The campus hospital is open?” 

“As most hospitals are, silly.” Rex fished around in his handbag, pulling out a few crumpled ¥1000 bills. “Let’s get you there before you turn into a literal zombie.”

“You’re exaggerating, hun.” Weevil walked out of the café, hand-in-hand with Rex. He saw a duel that had just ended, the winning duelist dealing the final blow with a Summoned Skull. He cringed, recalling too well his loss at Duelist Kingdom. “Besides, the campus is way too far.”

Before the three knew it, they had already reached the campus hospital. “You sure about that?”

“Oh… I, uh, didn’t know it was so close.” Weevil hadn’t been here since Rex’s ultrasound eight weeks ago, and hadn’t ever come as a patient. Roach had always trained him to “fight through the pain,” and he had actually never visited the doctor’s except for school-required physicals. “But are you sure we should see Dr. Balls? He’s not also a psychiatrist, is he?”

“This man knows everything, hehe.” Rex knocked on the door to Dr. Balls’ office. “Hey, dude, ya in here?”

“You shouldn’t speak so informally to someone who works almost 24/7 to give you free healthcare.” Dr. Balls was clearly tired, having had only a 1-hour lunch break the entire work day. 

“Oh… I’m sorry, doc.”

Dr. Balls chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, man. I’m more concerned about you and baby Amber.”

Rex cradled his baby bump. “We’re good, thanks. This little pinworm is your patient today.”

Dr. Balls knew something wasn’t right, even with Weevil’s lack of apparent injury or illness. “You’re troubled, I can tell. Take a seat, and let’s talk about it.”

As if this caring approach weren’t offsetting enough, Weevil didn’t know where to begin. Nobody besides Rex, Adelaide, his mom, and Rex’s parents have shown such open-mindedness to him. “Well… I’ve been zoning out a lot lately.”

“Stress from school? Something else? A combination of things?”

“No, no, I’m handling school just fine. I just… I’m having flashbacks. Flashbacks of a war that make me extremely afraid to transform ever again.” Weevil looked at his hands, only able to imagine the stain of Yami Marik’s blood on them. “I’m… I’m deathly afraid that I might hurt the people I love.”

“If it’s giving you that much anxiety, then you should officially start coming to therapy, and possibly start medication. You have post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Is that so… I don’t think it’s that bad yet. But I’ll keep that in mind.” 

“Weevil, I beg of you, take time for yourself.” Dr. Balls looked at Weevil with a somber expression. “You’re going to be a father in two months, and it would kill your daughter to see you like this.”

“It’s already killing me.” Amber sounded sad for a brief second, until an idea just dawned upon her. “Hey, I know what would be good for us all. It’s gonna work way better than any of your medicines, Dr. Balls. I think a little family outing would do wonders for Daddy.”

Dr. Balls didn’t feel offended at all. “I actually agree. Medications should be a last resort, not a first resort. Spending more time with your family is a much healthier - and cheaper - solution.”

“Yeah…” Weevil smiled and got up from the chair. “Yeah, you’re totally right! Whoa!”

“Come on, Daddy, there’s not much of the weekend left!” Amber laughed as she ran into the hallway while hugging Weevil’s arm.

“Hehe…” Rex proceeded to follow his daughter and boyfriend out the door. “So, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks?”

“Yup, see you there. And-”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘don’t push yourself.’ Like I haven’t been told that thousands of times.” He felt thankful for his naturally-gifted athleticism as he made his way for the hospital entrance. Rex felt a slight, gradually worsening shortness of breath with physical exertion ever since he started his third trimester. “Phew!”

“Papa, are you okay?” Amber gave Rex a giant water bottle she carried in her handbag, which he drank from thankfully. “If you like, I can call Grandma and have her pick you up from here.”

“I think you underestimate your Papa.” Rex, of course, was too proud to show even a hint of weakness.

“Then at the very least, let’s wait for the city bus,” Weevil proposed, letting a few more minutes of silence pass before saying, “Just so you know, I don’t want to have to carry your heavy ass wedding-style throughout a mall.”

“With  _ those _ noodly arms? Pah!” Rex laughed out loud, even when he mounted the city bus. It wasn’t enough to wake up Amber, who decided to take a cat nap on the way to the mall. “Save it for the actual wedding, huh?”

Weevil’s eyes darted about the moving bus. “We’re both still teenagers and college freshmen; I haven’t even thought about that.”

“C-Come on, Weeves, it was just a figure of speech.” Rex leaned into his boyfriend. “Let’s just have a good time today, and maybe get a few maternity clothes while I’m at it. Now that I’m in my third trimester, I’m growing out of my old clothes.”

“That you are.” Weevil smiled, and when he put his hand on Rex’s baby bump, their unborn daughter kicked. “I can’t wait until I can hold our baby daughter in my arms. You know, I would have gone completely mad if not for the two of you.”

“Shaddup, bug boy.” With the help of Amber, Weevil, and the bus rail, Rex made it safely down the steps of the bus. “Today, you are forbidden from talking about going mad, or shapeshifting powers, or anything else that stresses you out. I might be the one carrying our child, but I can take care of you too, you know.”

“Oooh, how romantic!” Amber cooed. “And don’t forget you’ve got the most awesome daughter ever, Daddy!”

“W-Well, why don’t we get shopping already, before we get  _ too _ sappy?”

The trio decided to enter the mall through the JCPenney side. It had been a while since Weevil had time to actually enjoy himself (not counting, of course, yesterday’s baby shower), and wanted to relax before another “fun” day at school tomorrow. The first thing he noticed was the smell of shampoo and flat irons coming from the beauty salon to his left.  _ Maybe I should book an appointment there, _ Weevil thought as he touched the hair on the back of his head; it was growing a little too long for his liking. 

“Papa! Look, look!” Amber walked to the maternity clothes section, not far away. “I found it!”

“Well, that certainly didn’t take long.” Rex went over there too, and took a quick liking to a shirt that said “Mommy To Bee.” “Weeves, I think I’ll get this one just for you! It compliments your ‘Daddy To Bee’ shirt very well, methinks.” 

“Adorable. Simply adorable, hun.” Weevil agreed as Rex brought a heap of clothes to a cash register. “But the price tag for all those certainly won’t be.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Amber winked as she ran a debit card through the reader. 

“You…” Weevil stuttered while the three walked down the main corridor of the mall. “You just paid for your mom’s maternity clothes. How ass-backwards is  _ that? _ ”

“Come on, we can both take care of Papa.” With Rex and Weevil on either side, Amber held her parents’ hands. “We’re a family and nothing’s gonna change that.” 

“Amber…”

“And you know what I think will help?” Amber ran ahead to a giant fountain in the heart of the mall. The bottom of it was full of coins from across the world. “ _ This! _ Oh, it’s been so long since I made a wish on a fountain! My baby brother and I used to do it every time we’d come to the mall. Daddy, let’s make a wish!”

“You got it!” Weevil spoke as they retrieved ¥500 coins from their pockets. 

_ Please, gods, let me have a safe delivery… And may Weeves get better soon, _ Rex prayed before tossing in the coin, with Weevil and Amber soon following.

“So what did ya’ wish for?” Amber looked at her mother curiously as they entered a Spencer’s. 

“Now, it wouldn’t come true if I told you, would it?” Rex took a remote-controlled fart machine. When he pressed the button, a long and wet-sounding fart came out. “Huhuhu… Check it out, Weevil. It’s a remote-controlled fart machine.”

“Oh, yeah. Hehehehe.” Weevil decided he wanted it for himself. 

“I remember wanting to come in this store as a kid…” Amber began while her parents made their purchases. Most of them were gag toys, but Rex insisted on a few sex toys too. “But you wouldn’t let me for… uh, obvious reasons.”

“I don’t care  _ how _ prodigious you are, young lady.” Rex led them to the food court. Though there were several larger restaurants there, he decided that he wanted takoyaki from a small stand there. “You’re too young to be going in the back of that store.”

“Hun, she’s 16. Let her be curious about sexuality. Or are you upset that Ptera didn’t let you look at porn mags until you were 17?”

“Why are we talking about this in public?” Rex groaned. “...You know what, you’re right. I’m just shocked that her future self is already 16. And yet, I’m pregnant with her present self. ...I don’t know, all of this is just very confusing, I suppose.”

“Instead of being confused, how about we wash our hands before we get our food?” Amber suggested as she turned for the women’s room. “Catch you later, my dudes.”

“What kind of daughter addresses her parents as ‘my dudes?’” Weevil shrugged as he opened the door to the men’s room. It was surprisingly clean for a public loo, especially a busy one - and a men’s room, at that. At the moment, there was nobody there. ...Or so Weevil thought, but he could hear the heavy retching of someone at the far end of the stalls. “Good gods, someone doesn’t sound so good over there…”

“It’s not like you to be concerned for the well-being of others.” Rex followed Weevil to that particular stall, knocking on it before saying, “Hey, man, you okay?”

Instead of answering, the young man in the stall continued to retch, so Weevil decided to open the stall anyway. He almost regretted it as the odour of vomit fouled up the otherwise decent-smelling loo. “Dino brain, judging the circumstances, I’d say he’s not okay… Wait, it’s… It’s Espa Roba!”

“W-Weevil…” Espa squeaked out before throwing up again. 

Rex spoke the first thing that came to mind, as he usually did. “So… Uh, food poisoning, perhaps?”

“Hah… Hah…” Espa breathed heavily as his nausea eased up, flushing the loo one last time. “Ugh. I wish this stomach bug or whatever I’ve got would go away. It’s been going on almost nonstop for about three weeks.”

“Then I know just the thing that might cure you - or at least help.” Rex dialed on his flip phone. “Yes, Mom, I’m going to need you to come to Domino City Mall with a boatload of your ginger tea. No, it’s not for me. It’s for a friend. ...Thanks.”

“I’m… I’m your friend?” Espa blinked.

“Y-Yes, well…” Rex’s eyes darted across the floor. “If you’re a friend of Weeves, then you’re a friend of mine. And I think you’ll love my mom’s signature tea; it almost single-handedly cured my morning sickness when I still had it.”

“Oh…” Espa started to feel uneasy. “Oh no…”

“Espa?” Weevil knelt down when Espa sat on the floor. “What’s wrong?”

“Guys, there’s something I’ve neglected to tell you all these years. I’m… I’m transgender.”

“Thanks for telling us.” Rex patted his former rival on the back. “But you certainly picked the weirdest of times - and places - to come out.”

“I’m telling you now because… well, because… I haven’t had my period since before I had sex with Mako, about nine weeks ago. And now this…” Espa began to slightly hyperventilate.

It had just dawned upon Rex just what Espa was trying to say. “Espa.. Are you saying…?”

“I think… that I might be pregnant.” Espa curled into a ball. He was thankful that during their entire conversation, nobody came into the loo, even though he could hear many voices from outside. “I don’t know what to do! If Mom and Dad finding out won’t do me in, then Mako finding out certainly will. I’ve already got four brothers; my parents would have a field day taking care of another kid.”

“Dude, the only way to find out is to go to the doctor’s. Or to buy a pregnancy test.” Rex slapped a few ¥1000 bills into Espa’s hand. “Go buy yourself a few, and whatever the heck else you feel like. And if you happen to actually  _ be _ pregnant, Weeves and I will help you then.”

“Rex… I totally totalled you at Battle City. Why are you doing all of this for me?”

“Do I need a reason to help someone who’s very sick? Besides, I know how it feels to be throwing up your guts almost 24/7. The last time it happened to me, it got so bad that I ended up hospital-bound for two months. I don’t want it to happen to you too.”

“I’m… so sorry…” Espa cried. “I take it back… You know, about calling you ‘the worst duelist in Domino City?’”

“Nah, I wouldn’t take it back.” Weevil chuckled as he and Rex helped Espa to get back on his feet. “Dino breath still  _ is _ the worst.”

“Weeves, not the time or place.” The arrival of Ptera and Amber at the end of the corridor halted this conversation. “Oh, hi, Mom. This is Espa Roba, and he’s the one who needs your signature tea.”

Ptera noticed that Espa’s colouring was slightly off, and knew right then and there that he was very sick. “Sweetheart, take as much of this as you need. And don’t hesitate to visit my restaurant if you run out, okay?”

“Y-Yes, Mrs. Raptor… And thanks.” So spoke Espa as Ptera walked off.

“...” Despite the gravity of Espa’s sickness, Amber found it hard to have empathy for the man.

Rex didn’t want the situation to get more awkward. “Espa, Weeves and I have to go now, but feel free to hit me and Weeves up if you need anything.”

“Thanks…” Espa gave the young men fist bumps before he decided to sit on a nearby bench, waiting for his parents to come pick him up. “Thanks, man.”


	23. Teachings

Chapter 23 - Teachings 

~23 October 2005~ 

“Mr. Underwood?”

Weevil paid no heed to Professor Hwad calling his name. Due to yet another night of late studying and panic attacks, he found it harder to concentrate in class. It didn’t help that midterms were next week, adding to his pressure to study.

“Mr. Underwood!”

This raised voice finally caught Weevil’s attention. “What? I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“I called your name at least three times. Class is about to end, and your essay is due today. Yet you haven’t turned yours in for me to grade. You _do_ have it, right?”

“Oh, sh--” It had just occurred to Weevil that he had only completed about half of this essay. “I’m sorry, Professor, it’s not done yet…”

“Well, make sure it’s turned in today by 23:59. You know I don’t accept late work.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Professor Hwad dismissed class slightly early. “Then I’ll be seeing you. See to it that this doesn’t happen again.”

“Man…” Weevil sighed on his way out of class. He turned to Rex and Amber with a frown. “I’m so sorry, you guys. Even after our mall shopping trip, I’m still feeling anxious and have a hard time concentrating.”

“Daddy… You know Papa and I will help you, no matter how many times it takes.”

“And so will we,” cut in an intruding voice. It was just then that Watda, along with his vice president Anita Phart, happened to exit their own classroom at the same time. “So, Weevil. Have you given my proposal any thought?”

Amber instantly got on the defensive. “Yeah, and his answer is ‘H-E-double-hockey-sticks NO. So you can BUZZ OFF!”

“Okay, okay, we’re going… Sheesh.” Before he left, Watda made sure to wink at Weevil, which Amber noticed.

“He can’t seem to take a hint, this guy!” Amber grumbled. “Anyway, Daddy, I have a much more effective way of helping you get better.”

“Yeah, how?”

“Can we duel?” Amber took out her Duel Disk.

“What? But we have class in a few minutes…” Unlike his first Domino Tabletop Gaming meeting, Weevil remembered to bring his Duel Disk for tonight’s meeting.

“Don’t worry, I’ll defeat you in the short time we’ve got.”

“Oh, really? Then you’re on!” Weevil took to the other side of the courtyard, and already he and Amber had drawn a large crowd.

Rex would have stood closeby, but over the past month, his ankle swelling and abdominal pain had gotten worse. He had been able to handle swimming just fine, but the moment he took to land, there went the pain. So he watched this duel from the closest bench, and could only see a little bit of the action. As soon as he sat down, he felt his unborn daughter kick hard. “Yeowch… Take it easy there, little Amber.” As he rubbed his baby bump, Rex noticed his chest pain, too; he was already producing primitive breastmilk. _Maybe I should go to the doctor… I can barely walk a few meters without needing to take a break._

“Hmm?” As he walked to his last class of the day, Spinos noted how much pain Rex was in. “Rex, are you okay?”

“Oh, hi, Dad.” Rex groaned as his father took a seat next to him. Already, Amber pulled her DNA Surgery/Insect Princess combo, and Rex knew the duel was as good as won. “No, I’m not… My gut hurts like hell, and going to the bathroom has been painful. I just hope I don’t go into labour early.”

“No, no, you won’t. Although I’ll talk to the doctor after class and see when he’s available.”

“Would you?” Rex smiled; considering all that Spinos did to Ptera, the dino duelist had no idea that his father could be such a nice guy. He began to trust him over the past few weeks - so much that he regretted Ptera wouldn’t do the same.

“Of course. Anything for my son. Whoa!” Spinos turned his attention to the duel that just ended. “I think we have a winner!”

“Hah!” Amber felt ashamed to lose, but showed a sense of pride anyway. “You just got lucky drawing Cocoon of Ultra Evolution when you did. There’s no way you would have won otherwise.”

“Yeah, well, a wise man once said to ‘believe in the heart of the cards.’ I did, and I just happened to win.”

“I thought you hated Pharaoh Atem…” Amber gritted her teeth. “‘Heart of the cards…’ Pssh, what a crock of bullshit.”

“Eh?”

“Erm, nothing.”

Spinos got up from the bench. “Well, my bug duelists, shall we get going to your last class of the day?”

“You bet, Grandpa!” Amber held out a hand for Rex to take. “You have a class too, right, Papa? Need some help getting there? It’s right next to my classroom.”

“No, I’m okay…” So Rex said, but his baby kicked as soon as he got on his feet. “Ugh… Little one, take a chill pill. You’re really hurting your Papa.”

“I didn’t know I was such an active little baby!” Amber laughed nervously.

“This is nothing compared to the violent morning sickness I had four months ago. Or the almost constant back pain… _Or_ the swollen ankles.”

“You went through so much trouble and suffering just to have me…” Amber stopped walking. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it!” Rex comforted his daughter. “Knowing what a fine young woman you’ll grow up to be will make this pregnancy totally worth it.”

“Oh, Papa…” Amber turned away to hide her tears. “You’re the best mom a girl could ever ask for. I love you so much!”

“Okay, okay…” Rex laughed. “Now, as your mother, I order you to go to class and try your best in it. Understood?”

“Yes, Papa, I promise I will. Good luck in your class, too!”

Rex watched Amber walk off before going to his own classroom. _I can’t believe I just said that!_ He felt exhilarated. _I feel like a mom already!_

“Ah, Rex Raptor,” a voice called out as Rex took a seat in his algebra class. “I didn’t know you also had this class.”

“Same here, Espa Roba. Same here.” Rex took the empty seat next to Espa’s.

As the algebra professor started lecturing, Espa decided he knew the material and Rex decided he was too tired to pay attention. “So are you and the baby okay?”

“ _Now_ you believe me? Er, I mean, of course we are. We actually had a baby shower on Saturday. And my daughter is as sprightly as ever.”

“Aww, man, you should have told me! Even if I wasn’t invited, I would have liked to get her something. Also, congratulations.”

“Thank you…” Rex felt the conversation would shift to time travelling and shapeshifters, which he wasn’t in the mood to discuss with Espa. So he decided to change the subject. “Speaking of babies… Did you take a pregnancy test since we last saw each other?”

“Yeah…” To avoid attracting the attention of the T.A.s or the professor, Espa pulled up an image on his laptop rather than his smartphone. On it, there were two pregnancy tests, with two solid pink lines on each one. Rex knew the picture was authentic because he could see not only Espa’s hand, but also two of his brothers. “...Looks like I was right all along.”

“Espa…”

Espa could hardly concentrate on taking his notes, and he teared up. “Rex… What am I going to do? I’m dead-meat if Mako finds out!”

“So don’t tell him.”

“But… I still love him. I can’t just sweep this issue under the-”

“Hey, you two!” a T.A. alerted. “No talking during the lecture.”

“Sorry, ma’am!” For the remainder of the period, Rex took meticulous notes until it was over. “All right, I think I’ll go to the tabletop gaming club early.”

“You mean the one you mentioned earlier?” Espa remarked. “I overslept on the morning of the club fair, and I’ve had almost nonstop babysitting duty and homework over the past few weeks. So I’m not currently a part of a club. Can I come too?”

Rex really didn’t want Espa to find out about his “secret life,” but at this point, he knew the club needed all the help it could get. “Of course you can. While we’re there, we can talk some more on how you can handle your pregnancy.”

“Waaaait! Papa!” No sooner had Rex taken a step forward when he could hear Amber calling him.

“Hey, how did class go?” Rex gave Amber a quick kiss on the cheek. “And where’s your father?”

“Class with Grandpa is always fun! As for Daddy, he’s finishing up his notes. And… He said he was going to attend the Domino’s Finest meeting instead.”

“H-He did… That buttmunch. He better come to the Club meeting on Thursday, then.”

“Yes, he promised as much.”

“Wow, Rex, I didn’t know you knew the beautiful-”

Rex stopped Espa. “She’s my daughter from the future. Believe it or not if you want, but it’s the truth.”

“And I know _you,_ Espa Roba. I’m going to beat you soon so I can get Papa’s Serpent Night Dragon back! Honestly, Kaiba should have disqualified you as soon as you were caught cheating. Mokuba is way too nice, methinks.”

“Y-You know about _that?_ ” Espa felt threatened. “In that case, Rex, I believe you.”

“So why is this buttmunch following us?” Amber asked her mother.

“You know he’s a good duelist, Amber, and you know that we could use his help. Plus, you can duel him at club.”

“That’s right! My machine/psychic deck is nearly unstoppable!”

“So much that Joey Wheeler took your ace card, Jinzo?” Amber scoffed.

“Ever hear of ‘I went on the Internet and found another one?’” _Though it_ did _cost quite a bit of money…_ “Anyway, Rex, what do you mean ‘we could use his help?’”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Not surprisingly, Phuckdis and William were already there, as well as a small handful of club members.

“Very nice, Justin!” Phuckdis praised the spellcaster duelist from the first meeting. “Using Sword and Shield against a zombie deck was a wise decision!”

“Heheh…” Justin flipped his hair. “Today’s the day I’ll finally defeat a Shiranui deck. You’ll soon be eating my dust, Heywood Jablomie!”

“Hah! You have that backwards, Justin Aswhole!”

“Does everyone in this club have a funny name?”

Rex’s snickering drew Phuckdis’ attention. “All right, guys, keep it up!” he told Heywood and Justin before walking over to Amber. He appeared to not want to talk to anyone but the green-haired girl, though, and shooed Rex and Espa away.

“That was a bit mean,” Amber huffed. “Rex is my mom, you know.”

“Yes, I do know that… More importantly, where is your father?” While Phuckdis spoke, Espa and Rex decided to start a duel of their own. 

“Y-Yes, well…”

“Well, he better show up today. If he’s not here, then we can’t carry out our mission. You know that.”

“Yes…” Amber turned away, hoping that Phuckdis would just shut up already. “I know that better than anyone. I can assure you that he will be here Thursday.”

Indeed, Weevil made every effort to get to this meeting on time. But little did he know, however, that his victory against Amber made him famous among the freshmen. Kids who would normally swarm Spinos instead flocked to Weevil, asking for dueling advice.

The history professor didn’t seem to mind. “It seems that the father of my granddaughter has regained his fame! Well, Weevil, I’ll see you next week!”

“Wait, Dr. Saurus! Move it, you losers, I have a club meeting to get to!” Finally, after an hour of pushing past wannabe duelists, Weevil managed to lose the crowd.

“Man, oh man…” Watda caught Weevil at the end of the crowd. “Seems to me you’ve become quite the celebrity. Is it getting to be too much for you?”

“How did you know?” Weevil allowed Watda to wrap a consoling arm around him. “I mean, I want to regain my former glory. But when it impedes my ability to get to classes and clubs, that’s where I have a problem.”

“Because the same thing happened to me when others found out my I.Q. was 200. Everyone used to ask me - not the teacher - for help with the homework. At first, I was okay with it, but then I found it hard to concentrate on my own work if I was constantly helping others. So I stopped doing it. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop people from asking. Between that, and your dangerous powers… You need someone who understands. You need someone who can help you.” Watda’s arm hug got tighter as they approached a grand meeting hall. When Weevil looked at it, it appeared to look like one giant red snake. “...You need the power of a fellow Earthbound God.”

Though Weevil felt disgusted from such intimate contact, for reasons unknown, he couldn’t resist pulling away. It was almost as if Watda used his own powers to place him in a trance. “Please…” Weevil got on his knees, almost not recognizing the ancient-looking altar from before. “Help me from myself. Help me protect Rex. I will do anything you ask.”

Watda smirked, tickling Weevil’s neck with one of his snake hands. “Anything? Would you… be the father of my child?”

This request caught Weevil completely off-guard. “Wh-What?”

“Now, now, I know what you’re thinking… No, you don’t have to have sex with me. In vitro fertilization will be enough.” So Watda said, but he had… _other_ plans in mind.

“What’s so special about me, that you would ask such a thing of me?”

“Since you’re being obedient now, I suppose I’ll be kind and tell you, if you really want to know…” Watda lightly tapped Weevil’s crotch with his foot. “It’s _this._ Did you know that none of us Earthbound Gods can produce sperm, even though we can all get pregnant? But you… you are an exception. You are capable of both getting pregnant _and_ impregnating. Any child you have, Uru, will be incredibly gifted. If you father the child of a fellow Earthbound God… That child will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Thus, your sperm is beyond invaluable.”

“That’s sure a long-winded way to tell me that you all want my dick.”

“Hey, hey, I’m not asking for it now.” Watda arose with a smirk; in his mind, he already began to plot his next move against Amber and Rex. “Because I’m such a generous Earthbound God, I’ll start teaching you our club’s ways now… The only stipulation is that you give me your sperm when I ask for it, when the time is right?”

“Yes…” The gleam in Weevil’s eyes began to fade as the club officers and members lit up multicoloured candles, strewn around the room. “I pledge myself… to your teachings.”


	24. A Damned Good Reason

Chapter 24 - A Damned Good Reason

~29 October 2005~ 

“So how are you feeling?” Dr. Balls asked as he moved the ultrasound probe around Rex’s 7-month baby bump. His unborn daughter had gotten so big that there was almost no empty space on the ultrasound.

“The kicking and back pain just keep getting worse! I’ve also passed out in class a few times, and now I’ve got these nasty stretchmarks. Oh, and leg pain. In short, lots of pain.”

“You’ve been using the fetal doppler, right?”

“Yup. My daughter’s heartbeat is getting stronger.”

Dr. Balls turned the ultrasound off and gave Rex the pictures and tape of it in a sealed envelope. “Well, it’s good to know that your daughter is thriving. The ultrasound says so, too. Be sure you’re drinking plenty of water to help with the faintness. I also teach a childbirth class that I recommend you attend. Not only will you get a tour of where you’ll be giving birth, but you’ll also know what to do leading up to and after the birth.”

“It’s really soon, isn’t it?” Rex clenched onto the bed sheets. “And yet, the father of my daughter has gone AWOL.”

“Why, what happened to Weevil?”

“I don’t know… He just stopped showing up to class about six days ago, after he ditched the Tabletop Gaming Club to attend a Domino’s Finest meeting. I’m starting to think he likes  _ them _ more than he likes  _ me. _ ”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope that you find him. No, I  _ know _ that you will, and he’ll be holding your hand as you give birth to little Amber.”

“I hope so too…” Rex put the ultrasound photos in his handbag. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to freshman comp.”

“Oh, one more thing before you leave. You’ll attend my first childbirth class tomorrow at noon, right?”

“Sure. I’ve got a morning class and a class at 3pm, so I can make it.”

“Okay, then, Rex…” Dr. Balls waved as Rex walked to his next class. “You take it easy now.”

“I will.” Professor Hwad hadn’t arrived yet, but Rex took his seat next to Camellia anyway.  _ I’ll be meeting other pregnant people for the first time… Except I’m fairly sure I’ll be the only dude. _

Camellia noticed how lost in thought Rex was. “Rex? What’s the matter, nervous about our group work today?”

“No, it’s just…” Rex caressed his baby bump. “My due date is almost here. And my baby is more active than ever.”

“That she is. In about eight weeks, I finally get to see my adorable granddaughter.” Camellia put her hand on the baby bump too. “And I’ll help take care of her to the best of my ability.”

“Yeah… Well, it’s not only that. But Weevil has been missing the past few days… You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”

“I have.” Camellia retracted her hand. “What if the worst has happened? I’m starting to get worried that he might be-”

“What are you guys talking about? Daddy’s right there!” Amber pointed to the door; sure enough, Weevil came into the classroom as if nothing ever happened.

“Baby, where the fuck have you been?” Rex snarled at Weevil. “You completely missed midterms. How do you expect to make up for it now?”

To Rex’s astonishment, Weevil had completely ignored him.

“Hey, Weevil, over here!” Watda and a couple of officers from Domino’s Finest beckoned him over.

“Hello, Watda. Everyone.” Weevil smiled as he walked over to the table and sat down. “Excited about today’s group work? I sure am.”

“Yeah, only because it’s with you.” Anita chuckled.

“Say, Weevil,” Watda began. “Did you complete your midterms on time?”

“I have, actually. I already got a perfect score on one of them. I’m just waiting for the results for the rest.”

“That’s great, man!” Watda caressed Weevil’s back. “Congratulations!”

“Stop… Stop getting friendly with him…” Rex mumbled. 

“Hmm?” Watda noticed Rex glaring at him. “Did you say something, Raptor?”

Out of impulsive anger, Rex threw a pencil at Watda, narrowly missing his face. “Get your filthy paws off of my boyfriend, you sick fuck!”

“Hey, hey, calm down, you weak little rabbit!” Anita got up in Rex’s face.

“Oh, I’ll calm down when you tell your stuck-up president to stop flirting with someone who’s already taken!” Rex stopped quarreling with Anita when Weevil walked over. “Weeves! Finally, you acknowledge me!”

“Rex, leave my friend alone. He’s very popular with the student body, and it would be unwise for you to get on his bad side.” Weevil turned to Watda. “Should I report him to the campus police now or later?”

“Neither will be necessary, my friend,” Watda spoke as Weevil walked back over to Watda’s table. “Let his bad grades do him in. It will be much more fun to watch, anyway.”

“You take that back, scum…” Amber barely resisted the urge to half-shift.

“Amber, leave him be,” Rex insisted. “He’s not worth it. At least, not here. We can discuss it more at club.”

“But… I’m worried,” Camellia mused after class had ended. Luckily, nobody elected to tell Professor Hwad what happened. “I mean, I know my son is in college now. But I’m still concerned about whom he associates with.”

“Me too. I know he has a reputation as a cheater, but he would never cheat on me… Would he?” Never before had Rex’s confidence in his relationship with Weevil waned, until now.

“Papa, don’t say that.” Amber huffed. “Daddy would never cheat on you. Oh, I forgot. Grandma, you’ve never been with us at the Tabletop Gaming Club, have you?”

“I didn’t know there was such a club at this university. When do you meet?”

“We have a meeting tomorrow. Would you like to come with?”

“Yes, please. I’m curious to meet these friends of yours.”

Knowing that Weevil was like his mother in just about every way, Rex could tell that Camellia was nervous about meeting these new people. And she had every right to be, considering how extroverted and even overbearing Phuckdis was. On the day of the meeting, he resolved to help her feel more comfortable in this environment. 

“Welcome, welcome!” Phuckdis greeted. “Wait, don’t tell me. Is Weevil missing again?”

“Sort of… He’s been spending time with the wrong crowd, if you catch my drift.”

“That is most unfortunate.”

“But his amazing mother is here.”

“H-Hello…” Camellia didn’t look at Phuckdis. “I’m Camellia Kaiba.”

“Did you say ‘Kaiba?’” This announcement drew attention to the center of the room. “This rocks! Everyone, we have someone from the legendary Kaiba family in our midst!”

“For real?” Several Club members flocked to Camellia.

“Ooh, you’re so pretty!” a Shiranui Squiresaga observed. “I love your clothes! Are you a shifter of the Shiranui archetype, by any chance?”

“Well… Well no. Oh, gods…” Embarrassed, Camellia hid behind Rex.

“Guys, guys, take it easy!” Rex ordered. “Give this nice lady some room!”

“Sorry, man…” Phuckdis apologized as he let Rex have the floor. “I should have known better. Weevil gets his introvertedness from her, doesn’t he?”

“You got that one right.”

“Apologies, Madam Kaiba.” Phuckdis bowed. “I am president of this club, Phuckdis Chit. This is my brother, William.”

“Charmed.” William bowed.

Rex spoke, “Anyway, she’s here because like me, she is worried about Weevil. He has been cutting Club meetings to hang out with Domino’s Finest.”

“ _ Those _ guys?” Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North sounded disgusted, as did the rest of his clubmates.

Amber stepped up. “That bastard even had the audacity to use his celebrity against us. After Papa threw a pencil at Watda, it was  _ Daddy _ , of all people, that threatened to tell the police. Such an asinine thing to report on!”

“And ever since, he’s stopped coming to my house… Clearly, something is wrong.”

“The only thing that’s wrong is you ruining KaibaCorp’s reputation!” exclaimed Mokuba, who with several KaibaCorp employees barged into the meeting room and quickly flooded it.

“Mokuba!” Rex shrunk a little and halfshifted. “What are you doing here?”

“This club is full of monsters, is it not?”

“But we didn’t do anything!” William insisted as Roland cuffed him. “We would never harm the people of the city.”

“He’s right.” Rex stepped in. “In fact, we’re trying to stop them. Especially since my boyfriend has stopped talking to me because of them.”

“Rex…” Mokuba’s tone changed as he spoke to the dino duelist. He gestured for his employees to let the Club members go. “Forgive me.”

“As long as you understand.”

“I’m not just talking about placing undue blame on you... “ In his right hand, he held a photo and revealed it to Rex. “The woman in this photo… Does she look like someone you know?”

“I remember that photo! It’s from that photo album, isn’t it? She looks just like my dad! But what are you implying?”

“I’m implying that the reason they look alike is because this woman - my mom - is the twin sister of your dad.”

“Then… Then that makes us cousins!” Rex had just realized it.

“And my cousin once removed,” Amber remarked.

“Seto is… gone…” Mokuba reached a trembling hand to Rex. “So you’re the only other family I have left.”

“That’s not true. Dad’s still alive.”

“Uncle Spinos? He’s… alive?”

“Yes.”

“Um, guys…” Phuckdis seemed reluctant to stop the familial bending. “The meeting is now over.”

“Oh, sorry.” Rex turned for the door. “Mokuba, Camellia… If you want to come to my house, you totally can.”

“Can we?” Mokuba asked. “I would love that.”

Rex looked at the notifications on his flip phone. “Yeah, dude! Let’s not keep Mom and Mama waiting.”

“Why, she’s just going to drive us anyway,” Amber remarked.

“Actually, she said she has guests over, so she can’t pick us up for today.”

“Then that gives you an opportunity to ride in a KaibaCorp limo.” Mokuba presented said limo when everyone reached the parking lot.

“Whoa!” Amber was the first one in, and continued to admire the limo as Roland drove it. “So…  _ I _ might be inheriting this limo someday?”

“Amber!” Rex exclaimed.

“As a matter of fact, yes. You are a Kaiba through both of your parents. And I’m aromantic and asexual. I have no intention of having kids of my own..”

“Let me get this straight.” Rex paused. “I’m your biological cousin while Weevil is your stepcousin. So… So Weevil and I are cousins, too.”

“That’s right. But don’t worry, you’re not related by blood.”

“Still, I’m a bit creeped out.”

“Instead of being creeped out, how about we enjoy some grub instead?” Amber suggested as Roland parked the limo, and Rex knocked on the door. “Roland, you stay here and watch out for monsters or something.”

“What gives you a right to give  _ me _ orders?” Roland scoffed.

“Roland, do as she says,” Mokuba ordered.

“Y-Yes, Mr. Mokuba.” Roland guarded the car as everyone else went inside the trailer.

“Rex!” Ptera answered. “I didn’t think you would get here so soon. If you give me enough time, I’ll prepare you some food.”

“I hope you have enough for three!” Amber came into the house. “Oh, Grandpa. Didn’t expect to see you here. So does that mean you and Grandma are good again?”

“...No, But it does mean- Ah!” Spinos stopped talking when he noticed Mokuba, and got up from the dining table.

“It’s… It’s you…” Mokuba reached both arms out. “Uncle Spinos!”

“You’re Aiko’s child!” Spinos embraced his nephew. “The only remaining child… of my dearly departed sister… It’s really you…”

Unaware that Spinos knew about time-travelling, Mokuba elected not to mention his brother.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Ptera cut in. “You have a nephew, Spinos? And a sister? All these years, you never told me.”

“That’s the least of what I haven’t told you.” Spinos, Rex, Amber, and Mokuba sat down at the dining table. “I’ve wanted to wait until you all were here… Finally, the time has come. That is, if you would hear me out.”

“Yes, please.” Ptera granted her permission. “For all that you’ve done, I’m sure you’ve got a damned good reason for it.”


	25. A Real Man

Chapter 25 - A Real Man

Spinos took a swig of wine from his glass before beginning his tale. “My family travelled a lot in my youth, so I didn’t get to make many friends my age. In fact, I refrained from doing it, knowing that we were probably going to move soon, anyway. My only playdates as a kid were with my twin sister, Aiko.”

“Is it because of your multiracial background?” Amber questioned. “Or because of your parents’ profession?”

“Both. My father, a Greek man, was interested not only in the fossils of his homeland, but of various parts of the world. Even though he’s now retired from paleontology, he’s still doing a lot of research and helping aspiring paleontologists enter the field.”

“So not only is my grandpa still alive, but he’s Greek!  _ And _ a paleontologist!” Rex placed a hand under his chin. “I guess that a love of dinos runs in the family, eh?”

“Surprised?” Spinos chuckled. “I learned to duel through him, actually. After he retired from dueling, he gave me his precious Jurrac deck.” 

“Aww, I really wanted to duel him…” Amber frowned. “I’d love to meet Great Grandpa someday.”

“Actually, he plans to visit Domino City next year. ...Anyway, I think I went on a little tangent.” Spinos shared a few chuckles with his family before continuing in a more serious tone. “My father’s travels didn’t last long. You see, when we were 13, Aiko started to develop a heart condition that nearly took the life of our mom. As such, she spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital when we were kids.”

“Mom…” Mokuba started tearing up. “She had her childhood taken away from her!”

“As you might guess, I strongly opposed her marriage to your biological father, Mokuba. Because if she had a child with her husband, her already short life would be even shorter. But they loved each other so much, and she loved her firstborn more, even though it really strained her heart. It was a miracle her body survived that birth 19 years ago. I was so beside myself, knowing that she was likely to die at a moment’s notice… Drinking, drug abuse, promiscuity… If it was a poor life choice, I made it.”

“Nineteen years… That’s was when…!” Ptera realized that it was around the time she found out she was pregnant with Rex.

“But when she gave birth to another son five years later… That was it. Her heart completely stopped…” The normally upbeat Spinos cried. “My sister… She died in childbirth.”

“Oh… Oh gods, Spinos…” Ptera finally started to let go of some of her hatred. “My condolences.”

“As for  _ my _ sorry ass, I nearly died too. I landed in the hospital once myself for alcohol poisoning. Then, I got the most peculiar news… The trainee I fucked in a bathroom had a five-year-old son -  _ my _ five-year-old son. That’s when I realized it wasn’t too late to redeem myself. I wanted to become a real man, a father that my little boy could be proud of one day. So I stopped sleeping around - in fact, I’ve not had sex since the day before I ended up in hospital. I went to rehab. The day after I was declared sober, I got a checkup. I had a liver that, if I didn’t take strong medication right then, would have undergone cirrhosis.”

“D-Dad…” Rex got up and started crying.

“Rex… You really turned my life around for the better. You… You saved my life.” Spinos embraced his son.

“Spinos…” Ptera joined in their group hug with tears of her own. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this? I would have gotten your sister - and you - the help you needed before it was you late.”

“There’s nothing you could have done to save Aiko. And even if there was, I couldn’t burden you with my problems… After all, you were the only one I’ve slept with that actually fell for me.”

“I guessed wrong about you.” Tricera declined to join in the group hug. “You’re a real man after all. I apologize for nearly punching your lights out, by the way. Sometimes, I don’t know my own strength.”

“Tricera, I am in debt to you. Thank you so much for giving Ptera consolation when I could not.”

“Aww!” Amber glomped her mother and grandparents. “I love my family!”

“Okay, I think I’ve had enough crying for one day.” Ptera let go. “Goodness, is it that late already?” She put her own dishes in the sink. “I’m off to bed. You’re more than welcome to stay too, Spinos.”

Spinos had gathered the remaining dishes. Then he headed to the living room with Amber and Rex while the latter two got out their decks. “I’ll stay awake a bit longer. I think I want to spend more quality time with my son and granddaughter.”

* * *

~31 October 2005~

“Yaaaaaaaawn…” Rex was surprisingly the first to get up - or so he thought. As soon as he was a little awake, he could smell a repugnant smell coming from the kitchen… blended with the smell of eggs. He did not appreciate this pregnancy symptom after managing to dodge it since his first trimester. He got up, using the walls as a crutch, expecting to see his mother cooking. “Dad?”

“Yeah, did you know men can cook, too? I’ve already made enough bacon, eggs, and pancakes for everyone in the house. For dinner, I’ll cook some Greek food that my dad taught me to make. I mean, if you want me to.”

“I’m down for that!” Ptera exclaimed. “I have cooked many cuisines, but not Greek.”

“Did someone say ‘eggs?’” Amber sprang out of one of the guest rooms upon hearing that word. As soon as she saw her second favourite food, she scooped heaps of it onto a saucer. 

“Guess I’ll have to cook more eggs, haha. Unless you want bacon, Rex.”

“Normally I would, but… I’m not liking the smell. I’ll have the eggs and pancakes, though.”

“Hehehe, must be my fault,” Amber chimed in as she got the coffee started. “I didn’t know that even the baby me is a pescetarian.”

“I’m pretty sure that bee larvae is not pesce… whatever the hell you just said.” Rex lightly pushed Amber’s shoulder as he walked past her. He wanted more time to chat, but he saw Spinos leaving with a piece of toast in his mouth. “Dad, are you leaving already?”

“Yeah, I have a class in an hour and a half.”

“Grandpa, can I ride with you?”

“Me, too!” Rex piped up.

“Of course you can!” Spinos led the pair to his car - a camo-themed Jeep with too many knicknacks in the trunk. “Pardon my dust.”

“Consider your dust pardoned.” Rex took the front seat and pushed it back all the way. “Do you always work this early?”

“Yes, and my classes run until 5pm, on every day except for Friday. In fact, Friday is typically my only day off. That, and I have after-school office hours, conferences, and paleontology work on most weekends. Being a teacher is a lot of work, yet sadly most people don’t know that.”

“That’s not stopping me from wanting to be a teacher,” Amber spoke up. “I want to be a biology professor! In my future, Daddy not only owns an apiary, but he’s also a biology professor at Domino City University. With a doctorate, mind you.”

“What about me?” asked Rex. “What do I do in your future?”

“Hehehe… I think I want to save the surprise.”

“Oh, you.” Rex stuck his tongue out at Amber.

“You don’t know what you want to do yet?” Spinos asked.

“I haven’t the faintest clue… All I know is that I love dinosaurs and Duel Monsters more than anything else. Well, except for Weevil and my family, of course.”

“You can be like me. On top of my paleontologist and professor duties, I also duel competitively whenever I have time.”

“Me? A professor?” Rex scoffed. “I don’t think I have what it takes. Or did you not know that I graduated at the bottom of my high school class?  _ And _ I have trouble concentrating in class as it is. I think I want to spare future students the trouble of me babbling nonsense to them.”

“I believe in all of my students, no matter what their grades are. And I certainly believe my own son can do anything if he tries.”

“Then do you believe I can survive the painful process of childbirth?”

“Of course!”

“Which reminds me, there’s another reason I want to be up early. There’s a childbirth class at noon I want to go to.” Rex rubbed his baby bump with a sad face. “I’m just… terrified not only of the process, but of the possibility of Weevil not being there.”

“Daddy will show up! And if he doesn’t, I’ll find him and bring him right to the delivery room!”

“Attending your own birth… That’s just too weird,” Rex mused as Spinos parked the car in a faculty parking spot.

* * *

“And that concludes our first childbirth class for this year,” Dr. Balls spoke to a group of about twenty pregnant people. “Our next one is the same time and day next week. Be safe, everyone, and feel free to visit me in my office or call if you have questions!”

The students dispersed, either for home or for their next class. Rex waved goodbye to some of his classmates - some of whom were male shapeshifters. He hadn’t thought of it until now, but he wished he had invited Espa to the class.  _ I guess I stand corrected on that whole ‘I’m gonna be the only dude’ thing. But I feel so much better and more confident after taking that class.  _ “Now, I just have Dad’s class in about an hour, and-” 

“Wait, Rex!” called a young lady with light-green hair and thick-lensed glasses.

“Um… Do I know you?”

“Yeah, I’m in Dr. Saurus’ class with you. I’m also a member of the Tabletop Gaming Club.”

“Really? That’s news to me. Why haven’t I seen you?”

“Well… Because I’m really shy, that’s why.” The young lady squirmed. “I only had the courage to speak with you today.”

It didn’t take long for Amber to decide that she didn’t like this person. “Back off, lady. Rex is already taken.”

“So I hear. In fact, that’s the reason why I wanted to talk with you guys today. You see, I know where Weevil has been hanging out this whole time. If you follow me, I can show you where. And we should have enough time to find him before class.”

“Papa, she’s totally bullshitting us,” Amber whispered into her mother’s ear. “Don’t listen to her.”

“But I want to get answers directly from Weevil. Since we don’t really talk in class right now, this may be our only chance.”

“Okay… But I won’t hesitate to half-shift and stick an arrow between this bitch’s eyes if I have to.”

Rex turned his attention back to the young woman. “We’ll follow you, then.”

“Perfect! Come this way.” The young woman led Rex and Amber to the theatre building, which to Rex’s fortune wasn’t very far. 

“This… uh… certainly is an interesting place to hold classes, huh? Whoa!” A kitten running across his feet took Rex by surprise.

“It sure is,” replied the young woman. “Unlike most buildings at this university, this one is very laid-back. It’s a home away from home for many people.”

“What’s up, Dip Chit?” called a young man who was enthralled in his skit while his spectators ate pizza. One such spectator belched loudly and earned a round of applause.

“Nothing much, except the sky.”

“Ya’ still down for a duel tonight?”

“I’m afraid it’s going to wait until tomorrow. I have… a lot on my agenda today.”

“Aww. Well, until next time, then! Tootles!”

“‘Chit…’ “That name sounds familiar…” Rex would have pondered this surname a bit longer, that was until he looked behind him and didn’t see Amber there. “Hey, where’s Amber?” 

“Oh, um… She’s… around.” Dip’s smile got slier as she led Rex further down the hall.

Unlike the lively rest of the theatre building, the area to which Dip led Rex was deserted and dark, save for a room full of candlelights. Rex began to think that this was just one of the many places students would have sex after school hours. He wasn’t even sure if it was school policy to allow for burning candles in a building, but then again, he thought the same of the scurrying kitten. “So…” Rex began. “This is where Weevil likes to hang out? I didn’t know he was into some kind of voodoo.”

“Hehehe… And soon, you will be too!”

“Huh?” Before Rex could turn around, Dip punched him in the neck hard enough to knock him out.

“Gods, how thick can you get? Typical low-ranking garbage. Huh!” Dip noticed Watda and the other officers come in. “Don’t you think so, Watda?”

“Yeah. What a pity his own daughter is leagues smarter than him!”

“So what should we do with him, Big Boss?” the purple-haired secretary, Seymour Wiener, asked.

“I say we kill him now,” Anita proposed.

“Yes, we should!” Weenus Peenus, the sergeant-at-arms, jumped and his yellow-coloured curls bobbed. 

“Doing that  _ would _ get rid of the threat of Uru’s child…” The blue-haired treasurer, Nortius Maximus, surmised.

“Can I do the honours, Big Boss?” Sillius Soddus half-shifted and pointed an indigo whale fin at Rex’s baby bump.

“Not yet, my friends. You see, I just got reports that Uru has been captured by the enemy. Once we get him back… We will kill this sorry excuse of a shapeshifter.” Watda rolled a foot over Rex’s face and spat on him. “Take him to a room fitting for someone of his low station.”


	26. A Shred of Regret

Chapter 26 - A Shred of Regret

~01 November 2005~ 

“Ugh… I feel like shit… Where am I? Wh-What the hell?” Rex began to stir, and held onto the wall as he sat up. But he couldn’t stand up, as the chains around his wrists and ankles bound him to the ground. Outside the small cage that surrounded him was an ancient, elaborately decorated room.  _ This… Could this be the enemy’s hideout? _

“Ah, so the sleeping beauty is awake!” Watda came into the dungeon with the other Earthbound Gods behind him. “Welcome to my humble abode, little Raptor.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, you sick fuck,” Rex snarled, halfshifting and baring his rabbit teeth.

“Or what? You’ll nibble at my shoe laces? Oooh, I’m shaking in my boots.” Watda spat in Rex’s face while the other Earthbound Gods did rabbit impressions. “You’re going to quickly realize that you have no power here, Rex. Do something that we Earthbound Gods don’t like, and we won’t hesitate to kill that child of yours.”

“Then you might as well kill me too,” Rex groaned as Watda kicked and kneaded his baby bump with a heeled shoe. His unborn daughter kicked hard, as if she wanted to fight back.

“Yeah, well, that won’t do. You see, those pesky friends of yours in the Tabletop Gaming Club have taken Uru hostage. I believe they aren’t to be underestimated. But I know of one way to sway them. If I use you as a bargaining chip, they’ll have no choice but to give Uru back. And if by some chance they’ve already killed Uru… Well, I’m sure you can guess what  _ I _ plan to do to  _ them. _ And to you, for that matter.”

“No… Leave Weevil alone! Kill me if you want, but please… Just leave him alone…”

“What did I  _ just _ say, you lowlife?!” Watda gave Rex’s baby bump a hard kick. “This man you call your boyfriend… I don’t think you realize just who he is. Well, if you somehow manage to survive torture, maybe you’ll find out. As for this child of yours… I highly doubt she’ll survive being born at only 31 weeks, with no NICU near. I’m sure she’ll come out of your womb if we do a little…  _ convincing. _ ”

“No… No!” Rex cried as the Earthbound Gods continued to torture him in such awful ways. He regretted that because of his bonds, he had no way to protect his baby bump. Hyperventilating, he begged, “Amber… My sweet baby, please… don’t…”

“All right, I think that’s enough torture for now!” Watda cackled as the Earthbound Gods turned for the door. “Look forward to some more tomorrow!”

_ Sons of bitches… _ Only a few hours passed, and already Rex wanted to die. But because he had been bound, blindfolded,  _ and _ gagged, he couldn’t even bite his own tongue off. The only things to keep him company at that time were the crackling candles, the quickly-freezing temperature - and, of course, his baby.  _ Amber… I’m not going to let them hurt you. Your Papa will protect you with all he’s got. _

Just then, Rex heard a knock on the door.  _ Go away, you asshole, _ he would have said if he wasn’t gagged.

“Relax, I’m just here to bring you a meal.” It was Dip’s voice. Rex could hear the sound of a metal tray clanging on the ground before Dip undid his blindfold, arm cuffs, and gag.

“I don’t want it,” Rex grumbled. “I’d rather die. You’re an all-powerful god like Weeves, right? Can’t you just kill me now? In fact, I would have much preferred it if you had done that in the theatre hallway. It would have saved me a ton of time.”

“But if I did that, then your baby would likely die, too.”

“Y-Yeah… Good point.” Rex started to pick at the food Dip gave him. It wasn’t chocolate-covered takoyaki, but for prison food, it wasn’t so bad. 

“And before you ask, I’ll be the one escorting you to the bathroom whenever you need to go.”

“I should have figured.”

“Well, Uru  _ has _ told me about your penchant for toilet humour.”

“He has a real name. It’s Weevil.” After Rex had finished the meal, he looked at Dip intently. “Speaking of names, I just remembered what that theatre student called you. Are you related to William Chit and Phuckdis Chit?”

“William and Phuckdis? They’re alive? Um, I mean… Yes. They are my brothers.”

“They’re in the Tabletop Gaming Club. You know, the very club you’re fighting against.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then why are you guys fighting on opposite sides?”

“Because…” Dip’s voice began to shake. “We used to be close, as any triplets would. But when I became the first of us to awaken as a shapeshifter… They instantly disowned me. It’s just my damned luck that I turned out to be Earthbound God Ccarayhua, the lizard god. It’s just my damned luck that I’m destined to cause nothing but ruin and suffering in anyone I meet. You see, we Earthbound Gods can’t escape our fate. ...And if someone must kill me, I would want it to be my brothers.”

“That’s not true! Weeves is an Earthbound God, but back when he and I were in ancient Egypt, we saved the world.”

“I… didn’t know that Uru- er, that Weevil could act that way.”

“And I can relate to you on that brothers thing. I used to think my dad was a piece of shit, but after finding out why he did what he did, I grew to love him more. My point is that you don’t have to have this kind of relationship with your brothers. If I ever escape from here, I’ll be sure to knock some sense into them.”

“Huh!” Dip sharply arose. “And to think I thought you were a good person at heart. If escape is on your mind, then you’ve got to be the dumbest person on the planet.”

“Dip!” Watda’s voice could be heard rapidly approaching. “How’s the prisoner doing?”

“Shit!” Dip scrambled to get Rex back in his restraints. “Boss, he’s… Alive. Barely.”

Watda looked to the empty dishes Dip was holding. “I see you’ve fed him… Excellent. But be sure that next time, you feed him something less indulgent. A lowlife like him deserves nothing but our table scraps.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll make sure of it.” So spoke Dip as she and Watda left the room. 

Rex was almost certain he saw a shred of regret on Dip’s face that night - and on the next six nights after. He was also surprised that even though he was being tortured, his prison food continued to get better - and his unborn daughter got more active.  _ Dip… Could it be…? _

Unfortunately, Watda had noticed this good health too, and had called a meeting in Domino’s Finest Meeting Hall. “This is bad… We continue to torture, yet Rex’s child continues to thrive! Even worse, we do not yet know where Uru is being held.”

“Hmm…” Anita looked at Dip with her hands folded. “Seems to me the person feeding our prisoner his meals has intentions she’s yet to reveal.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Vice-President Anita.” Dip barely managed to keep her cool. “You forget that Rex carries Uru’s daughter. More likely than not, she is exceptionally resilient and won’t be killed so easily.”

“I see your point,” Watda mused. “However, it is unlikely that if Rex goes into early labour, that he will live. There’s no way his body will survive giving birth to the child of an Earthbound God. So if he happens to die while in our custody, then we might have to use his daughter as a bargaining chip instead.”

“I feel that a simple ransom won’t be enough,” Anita remarked.

“And infiltrating their base isn’t an option, either,” spoke Nortius. “Not only do we not know where it is, but we don’t know who our opponents are.”

Sillius contested, “Actually, my men have caught wind that the legendary duelist Joey Wheeler is on the side of our opponents.”

“Oh?” This statement raised Watda’s interest. “You speak of  _ the _ Joey Wheeler who has helped save this world from the Orichalcos, correct?  _ The _ Joey Wheeler, who was chosen by one of the three dragon gods?”

“Yes. He might be strong as a duelist, but definitely not in wit. In fact, most of his allies are that way as well. I believe we can use that flaw of Joey’s to our advantage, if we… raise the stakes a little bit, if you know what I mean.”

“Interesting…” Anita nodded. “In that case, President Watda, how about this. Each of us will lure Joey and each of his main allies to different locations on this campus. Surely we can defeat at least one of them, and force them to tell us where Uru is, on pain of death.” 

“Then we’ve no time to waste.” Watda got up and readied his Duel Disk. “I’ll take Joey. The rest of you, find one of his even more dimwitted friends to defeat. Meeting adjourned!”

“...” Dip looked to the ground in sorrow before she began to leave the theatre building, knowing her target. 

Dip wouldn’t have to find her target, because said target had found  _ her _ \- with a hard punch to the cheek. “You bitch!”

“...” Dip rubbed the spot where Amber punched her. “...That hurt.”

“I know you’re the one who kidnapped Papa! Tell me where he is, before I kill you where 

you stand!”

“Calm down, little lady!” Dip activated her Duel Disk before Amber could half-shift in front of the spectators that already began to gather. “I’m not letting you go anywhere without a fight!”

“Maaaan, challenging Domino High School’s man-eater is the last mistake this lady will ever make!” whistled one of Amber’s old high school friends.

“And why should I waste time dueling you? Get out of my way! I don’t have the time for this!”

“What’s the matter? I thought you were the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor. Huh! Makes sense to me; if they’re something wrong with the bitch, there’s something wrong with the pup.”

“Oh, that’s it!” Amber got out her Duel Disk and angrily drew her starting hand. “I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who talks smack about my parents! And I’ll have the first move! I start by setting a monster, then a card in my Spell/Trap Zone. Now start your turn already!” 

“Giiiiirl fight!” another former student of Domino High School announced, attracting even more people to the duel.

“Quiet, you, before I throw a razor-sharp card at your face!” Dip barked, then drew her first card. “I summon Evoltile Odonto in attack mode! Then I activate its special ability to Summon Evolsaur Elias! And that’s just the beginning of my Evol Special Summoning combo, because thanks to Elias’ ability, I can summon Jurrac Monoloph from my hand! Jurrac Monoloph, attack that set monster, now!” 

“And you didn’t even bother to think of the monster I had set.” Amber laughed. “By the way, it’s Pinch Hopper. And in case you were wondering, its special ability allows me to summon the prettiest monster of all! Insect Princess!”

“Yeah, I know what it does,” Dip mumbled. 

“And your weak-ass monsters can’t lay a finger on her!” Amber stuck her tongue out.

“Shut up, bug girl!” Dip snarled. “I end my turn.”

“Why thank you, I’m honoured.” Amber drew a Howling Insect and set it. “I’ll prove I’ve earned that name, too, because I activate my trap DNA Surgery! Not only are all of your monsters changed into insects, but thanks to my Princess’ special ability, they’re all forced into attack mode!”

“Oh, no you didn’t!” 

“Oh, yes I did!” Amber replied with the same sassy tone. “My Princess, destroy that weak-ass Evolsaur Elias and gain 500 ATK points while you’re at it!”

“Huh! Pesky bugs. I play Pot of Greed, then Double Summon to set a monster in defense mode. Then I think I’ll squash your Princess’ hopes! By playing my spell card Remove Trap, I can get rid of that DNA Surgery and its effects! Haha… HAHAHAHA!”

“So what. You’re sure laughing an awful lot for someone who made such a predictable move.”

“Bug girl, you’re going to learn that your daddy dear is far from the only Earthbound God on this planet.”

“D-Did you say ‘Earthbound God?’” Amber suddenly got scared.

“Are you deaf? Of course I did! I tribute my two monsters to summon my ace… Say hello to your worst nightmare! Earthbound God Ccarayhua!”

“You…” Amber’s knees jiggled as she stared up at the giant green-and-black lizard in front of her. “You’re an Earthbound God?”

“You bet your ass I am. And since you know a thing or two about Earthbound Gods, I don’t have to tell you that Ccarayhua can attack you directly! But I am sick of looking at your butt-ugly Princess… Ccarayhua, get rid of her!” 

“My… My Princess…” It hurt Amber to see her ace card destroyed by such a grotesque monster. “Don’t you worry, my friend. I’ll get revenge for you! I draw!”

“And how do you plan to do that, exactly? You can’t target Ccarayhua for attacks, nor can you attack me directly thanks to my set monster! And I can’t imagine how you can defeat my Earthbound God!”

“Gods, will you SHUT THE FUCK UP?!” Amber was pleased to have drawn Cosmic Cyclone. “Of course you can’t imagine how I’ll defeat that butt-ugly lizard of yours. You didn’t consider that I could use this - Cosmic Cyclone - to banish the Field Spell keeping it alive!”

“Ah… My Earthbound God…”

“That’s payback for what you did to my Insect Princess. And what I’m about to do next is payback for what you did to Papa… I summon Naturia Butterfly in attack mode, then I’ll tune up my monsters to bring out  _ this… _ The Synchro monster, Battlewasp - Halberd the Charge! And defend all you like, it’s not going to help. Actually, don’t bother to defend, because this spell card - Fairy Meteor Crush - will be your end! I equip it to my Battlewasp… and inflict piercing battle damage to you!”  _ Please, gods… Is it enough…? _

“Huh.” Dip conceded when her set monster - a Jurrac Gallim - was destroyed. “Just what I expect of the daughter of an Earthbound God.”

Amber rushed up to Dip and held her by the collar with both hands. “You will tell me where Papa is. Now. And know I’m not afraid to beat the ever-loving shit out of you in front of all these people.”

“Okay, okay, already. I’ll do it. Can you put me down, please?” When Amber lowered Dip to the ground, the crowd dispersed. “Come this way.”

“What? You don’t need to  _ show _ me where your hideout is. Just tell me, and that will be enough.”

“You’re a gods-damned idiot for thinking you can storm an enemy camp by yourself. Now quit asking questions and come on!”

“Uh… Right.” The theatre building was still as lively as ever; Amber began to think that people really  _ did _ live there. “...Just what I thought. It’s in the theatre building.”

“Ah, Dip Chit.” One of the guards, an Archfiend Empress, greeted Dip. “Who’s the young lady?”

“She’s a new recruit. In fact, she’s going to be helping me watch our prisoner.”

“Hmm…” The other guard, a Summoned Skull, stared at Amber’s eyes. “Okay, let her in.”

_ Phew… I thought that they would recognize me for a second there, _ Amber thought as Dip led her to Rex’s cell.  _ It’s a good thing at least _ some _ of my enemies are dumb as bricks. _

“Here he is.” Dip gave Amber a set of jail keys when they arrived at the cell.

“Papa!” Amber was so excited to see her mother again that she fumbled with the keys. “Oh, gods, what happened to you?”

Finally completely free of his bonds, Rex got up and stretched. “I got tortured for a week, what does it look like?” He felt like shit, but his unborn daughter kicking reassured him. “And don’t worry, your present self is still fine.”

Amber hugged Rex tightly. “I’m never letting you out of my sights again, okay, Papa?”

“Guys, I hate to interrupt the mother-daughter bonding, but you don’t have a lot of time,” Dip cut in. “Rex, the other Earthbound Gods are dueling your friends. It’s only a matter of time before they beat them and come back here. Now, if you escape through the backstage of the theatre, you should get out of here unseen.”

“Gee, thanks for your vote of confidence. Er, I mean, thanks for helping us out.”

“I’m not helping you out; I have a sense of honour as a warrior. I want to fight you at your full strength, not as a prisoner. The next time we meet, you’re rabbit stew. Both of you.”

“Heh, I never thought I’d be called that again…” Rex dashed to the building’s backstage.

“I look forward to our fight… Until next time, Dip.”


	27. I Challenge My Fate

Chapter 27 - I Challenge My Fate 

~07 November 2005~ 

“President Phuckdis! Reporting in, sir!” A Buster Blader saluted his general. 

“Proceed, Captain.”

“Several enemies calling themselves ‘Earthbound Gods’ started attacking Joey and his friends. Apparently, Joey lost a duel, and last I checked, he was engaged in battle with a snake-like monster. There are now hundreds of enemy soldiers coming this way! It’s only a matter of time before-”

“Th-They’re here!” shouted a few guards who stood watch at the door. “Aaaaaaargh!”

“Hah!” Watda led the charge, showing no mercy in cutting down the guards. He aggressively attacked Joey and showed little interest in anything else. “How kind of you to show me where you lowlifes camp out! Now, give me Uru or else!”

“Never!” Joey swiped at Watda’s feet with his Salamandra sword, “summoned” from his Duel Disk.

“Oh?” Watda smirked as he jumped over the sword like a jump rope. “Why would you want to protect that ‘dung beetle…’ or whatever it is you called him?”

“Hahaha…” cackled a voice from behind Joey. “I wonder that, too. Well, no matter, since that will be your first and last mistake!”

“Weevil!” William growled at the half-shifted Weevil. “Dammit, he escaped!”

“What do you mean, ‘escaped?’” Joey wanted to know.

“William, you moron!” Phuckdis bopped his brother with the blunt end of his sword.

“Hey, Joey!” Weevil’s arms hardened, glowing blood-red. “Think fast!”

“Wh-What?” Joey darted around for the agile bug duelist. Before he could really process what was going on, Weevil found him first, stabbing his non-sword arm with a sharp spider arm. “Aaaah! You… You mosquito…”

“A mosquito, am I?” Weevil continued to assault Joey, who had to parry the attacks with a shaky arm. “Hah! A mosquito is but a caterpillar compared to the monster I’ve become, compliments of my fellow Earthbound Gods!” 

“You’ve gone absolutely batshit, Weevil! Open your eyes, why don’t you!”

“Nah, how about no.” Weevil stabbed Joey’s sword hand so hard that the Salamandra sword went flying. “But I’ll gladly open a giant wound in your belly and let the maggots have at you. I’ll make you suffer for what you’ve done in the past…”

“G-Ggh…” Joey looked up at his former Battle City rival, knowing his life was as good as done.

“The only one who will be suffering here is _you,_ Weevil! Amazoness Empress, get ‘im!” exclaimed a debilitated Mai. 

“Ah…” All of the excitement of battle left Weevil in an instant, and he knelt to the ground in pain. 

“Bind Weevil at once!” Phuckdis ordered. “And be quick about it!”

“Yes, sir!” Several Magician Girl monsters got to work right away.

“Mai…” Joey got up, hoping to help the woman he loved - that was until Watda got in his path. 

“Going somewhere, Wheeler?” Watda slashed down a few Club members who got between him and Joey. “Not that it would do you any good, since your pretty little girlfriend is history!”

“Get off her, you thug!” Seeing Watda’s snake arms slither around Mai’s face pissed the hell out of Joey.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I want to hear her scream in agony after I take _your_ life away!”

“Ggh…!” Joey tried to pick up the Salamandra. “Rex… Where the hell are… you…”

* * *

“Dammit, get out of our way!” Though the enemies Amber fought on the way to the Club meeting room were weak, their numbers were enough to overwhelm her.

“Need some help?” Rex asked before transforming himself, felling most of the enemies and weakening the rest.

“Papa! You shouldn’t be-” Amber would have scolded her mother if she hadn’t noticed what Rex’s transformation had done.

“Hehe!” Rex remained in rabbit form as he ran with Amber. “I might not be a strong monster, but I’ve got one heck of a special ability. Surprised?”

“Yeah, at the fact that your baby bump is still intact when you switch forms. Shapeshifter physiology is a weird thing, isn’t it?”

“It shouldn’t be for a girl genius like you.” 

“Papa… I know the circumstances are grave, but I don’t want you to push yourself. Let your strong daughter do the fighting.”

Rex’s endurance barely held on long enough to reach the Tabletop Gaming Club’s meeting room. As soon as he turned back into a human, his ankles swelled badly, and held onto Amber as a crutch.

“I got you, Papa. Oh?” No sooner had Rex reverted forms when Amber saw a fight going on well inside their meeting room, in the health/recreation center.

Unlike Amber, Rex recognized Watda instantly - as well as the captive he held by the neck. “That’s the guy who captured me! And he’s got Joey! Ugh!” Rex strained to transform.

“Papa, are you nuts? That man is the Crimson Devil, the strongest of the Earthbound Gods! Even _I’m_ not match for him! H-Hey, get back here!” Amber couldn’t stop her mother from running to Watda in human form.

“Hehehe…” Watda cackled as he raised Joey above the gathering crowd - most of whom were weak monsters that didn’t dare to raise a hand against Watda. “My Earthbound Gods have lost to your friends… It’s too bad that you really lucked out and ended up dueling _me_! Although I have to commend your bravery, Mr. Wheeler. It’s too bad you’re not as smart or strong as you are reckless.”

“Joey!” As much as Mai wanted to rescue the man she loved, enemies restrained her. “No! Take me instead, please!”

“D-Damn… you… Watda…” Having lost against Watda himself, Phuckdis barely had the strength to crawl on the floor, let alone fight back.

“Y-You’ll never… have… Urk!” Joey howled in pain as Watda’s nails dug into his neck, drawing blood.

“You’re trying to protect the man who tried to steal your soul, and the one whom you call a ‘duelin’ disgrace?’ Hah!” Watda used his free hand to grab Joey’s head, with the intent to twist it off. “I’ll show you the consequences of being a nice guy, you bleeding-heart filth! You don’t even deserve the honour of final words!”

“And I’ll show you the consequences of messing with my friends!” Rex thundered as he quickly shifted and latched onto one of Watda’s arms.

“Wh-What? Yeowch!” Thanks to Rex’s special effect, Watda could feel his strength draining. “You damned rabbit! How did you escape?”

“Not gonna tell you! But you best think how _you’re_ going to escape!”

“What do you- Argh!” Before Watda could even turn around, an arrow from Amber pierced his shoulder.

“You’re… gonna pay!” Amber continued to shoot a flurry of arrows, chasing Watda out of the building. “Wait! ...Dammit, he got away! Let me-”

From an all-fours position, Rex grabbed one of Amber’s ankles. “Amber, not now… Just look around you.”

“Papa…” Amber noticed that in this battle, many Club members have already died, the vast majority of them killed by Watda.

“At least we know who are enemies are now.”

“...Fine.” Amber turned back into a human and glanced at Joey. “Just so you know, I _still_ hate you. I didn’t do what I did because I consider you a friend.”

“Hehe, I know you do. You just won’t admit it!” Joey’s tone turned serious when he looked down at Rex. “That was a bold thing you did, man. Not only are you super pregnant, but you got beat to a pulp for gods know how long. I’m… I’m sorry for all that I said about you in the past. I take it all back.”

“It’s cool, dude…” Rex decided he couldn’t move anymore, and leaned against a giant wooden table for rest.

“Ugh.” Amber instead turned her attention to her incapacitated allies, Phuckdis and William. “Guys, are you okay?”

“Barely…” Phuckdis managed to stand on his feet, and helped his brother stand up too. “More importantly, Lady Amber… We’ve finally done it. We can now complete our mission.”

“Oh?” Amber looked to the smaller crowd, gathered around… something.

“‘Lady’ Amber? Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard her called that before…” Rex couldn’t see what was going on, even though he wasn’t very far.

“...Stay where you are, Rex.” Amber didn’t allow Rex to move one more inch forward.

“Amber?” Rex’s heart broke a little when Amber called him by his name. “Let me see what’s the ruckus over there!”

“Oh, I will.” Amber gestured for her soldiers to move out of the way, and when they dispersed, Rex could see Weevil - bound at the ankles, weak, and completely void of emotion.

“Weevil! You’re okay…” Rex attempted to crawl over to where Weevil was, but the ankle pain held him back.

“Rex… I don’t think you realize what kind of enemies we’re up against.”

“I’ve learned enough when I was captured. They want Weevil to join them because he’s an almighty god. And who wouldn’t?”

“They don’t want him for just any reason… He’s an Earthbound God, destined to cause ruin.”

Rex remembered what Dip told him, but tried to deny it. “Th-That’s not true! I thought you knew better than anyone that he can use his powers for good!”

“For now, yes… But in time… In time…” Amber walked towards Weevil and stared him down. “Their minds will become so corrupt that they have no choice but to fulfill their destiny. And when they’re with their own kind, they’ll cause unspeakable destruction.”

“Amber, that’s nonsense!”

Amber’s body and voice shook. “After seeing this destruction myself, I can hardly call it nonsense! The Earthbound Gods are what ruined my future! It was them… They were the ones who…”

“You’re not serious…?” Rex hugged himself to stop trembling.

“I saw it with my own eyes! Weevil was the one who killed my baby brother… My boyfriend…” Amber looked at the members of the “Dweeb Patrol,” who were even more confused than Rex. “All of you… And… you, Rex. Weevil killed you right in front of me.”

“Oh… my gods…” Rex wanted to throw up just from hearing this awful story.

“This… has been my mission… all along…” Amber half-shifted and pointed her arrow at Weevil, who looked up at her without a gleam in his eyes.

“Amber!” Rex couldn’t stop crying. “Do you mean to tell me you were duping me this whole time? That all along, your only real goal was to kill Weevil?”

“That’s right. This overgrown spider is the only thing standing between our future and complete freedom!”

“Amber…” Rex cried. “I… I can’t believe what I’m hearing… No, I _won’t_ believe it!”

“And now… I challenge my fate!” Amber’s arrow glowed brightly.

“Do it, Lady Amber.” Phuckdis ordered. “Your mother is already pregnant with your present self, so you can still live. And Francis… He never deserved to live in such a terrible future. Do this, and his soul will be appeased.”

“Haha…” Amber’s eyes hardened on Weevil. “I’m going to free everyone… I’m going to save the world! All I have to do is kill one bloody Earthbound God! And I’m going to do it in front of your very eyes, Rex!”

“Amber… Argh!” No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much Phuckdis and William pulled his legs, Rex crawled forward. 

“Don’t you dare interfere in our mission, Rex!” Phuckdis threatened to stab Rex’s legs with his sword. “I don’t care if you’re pregnant! I won’t hesitate to hurt you!”

“Amber… I know you don’t want to do this. The bonds your father and I have forged with you over the past few months are real. They’re not something you want to end with a stupid, puny arrow. Even though you’re barely younger than us, Weevil and I really love you as our daughter. Isn’t there any room in your heart for the father who raised you? The father who taught you everything there is to know about insects and dueling? The father would would take all the pain and suffering in the world just to make you happy?”

“Shut… up…” Amber started to tear up.

“Amber… I want us to live and bond as a family. There’s got to be another way. Let’s put all this behind us and go on another mall trip, or walk in the park. But whatever you do… please, don’t do this.”

“Shut up, Rex! You’re just making it harder!” Amber’s aim at Weevil’s heart began to waver. 

“But you can save him! We’ve done it before!”

“No. Look at him! He’s too far gone now... He doesn’t even remember who the fuck you are, Rex! This is the only way I can save the world - and Weevil’s soul. I… I don’t want to see this man suffer in the soulless shell that was once Weevil Underwood. I’d… rather… Sniff…”

“Rex… Weevil…” Even the normally-proud Joey, the Joey that once despised Rex and Weevil with everything he had, couldn’t help but shed tears of his own.

“Weevil…” Amber choked on her own breath, and she pulled her bowstring as far back as she could. “Sorry, not sorry.”

So were Amber’s final words as she tearfully let her arrow fly at Weevil full speed.


	28. A Worthy Leader

Chapter 28 - A Worthy Leader 

Rex couldn’t bear to see his own daughter kill the love of his life. All the memories he and Weevil had forged with their daughter over the past few months would end with Weevil’s imminent death.“Amber… Weevil…” he continued to cry in his hands, still unprepared for the inevitable. “Why did… Eh?”

The dino duelist peered through his fingers to see Amber’s arrow not only sticking from the ground, but Weevil still breathing. The magical bonds the Magician Girls placed upon Weevil lay next to Weevil in a raggedy heap.

“She… She shot at his ankle bonds!” Amber’s archery skills impressed Téa.

“It’s not possible!” Chocolate Magician Girl couldn’t believe it. “That binding was blessed by the High Priest Mahad himself!”

As Weevil stood up, still silent, Amber commanded, “Go, now, before someone in this room tries to kill you.”

Weevil left without even a nod, but Amber swore she saw a hint of gratitude in those forlorn eyes.

“What the fuck, Amber? Do you realize what you’ve just done?! ” Phuckdis clearly didn’t like this turn of events; nor did several disgruntled soldiers. Displeased with Amber’s lack of confidence and leadership, they left to join Domino’s Finest.

“Yeah! Now he’s probably off to join the other Earthbound Gods!” William added, kicking a small desk and sending it flying. “You had one job, Amber. ONE FUCKING JOB!”

It was then that Rex finally had the strength to stand on his feet. He walked up to his daughter and placed two hands on her shoulders. “Amber…”

“Papa!” Amber cried into Rex’s shoulders. “Gods damn me, I couldn’t do it! I love Daddy too much!”

“And thanks to your ineptitude, we’re all going to die.” Phuckdis rolled his eyes. “You had the one evil god that caused our destruction before you, and you could have ended it with a single damned arrow. But nooooo, your love for your daddy dear haaaaad to get in the way!”

“You’re not helping, you bastard!” Rex half-shifted, swiping at Phuckdis’ face with a rabbit paw to silence him.

Several minor scuffles amongst the Club’s soldiers broke out, adding further to Phuckdis’ worries. His army was falling apart before his very eyes as was his hope for saving his future from ruin. He started to think that he should have remained in the future, where he could receive a quick death, instead of painfully waiting for it to come. The rabbit claw slash Rex inflicted upon him was nothing compared to his helplessness. “We’re doomed… Dear gods, we are doomed.”

“Th-That’s not true…” Rex began to lose hope too, but loved Amber too much to dishearten her with more discouraging words.

“No, he’s right. Thanks to my choice, not only is my future going to come true after all, but now we’ve lost a good deal of soldiers. Either way… I lose. I’m destined to suffer, and I deserve it.” Amber clenched her fists, putting a halt to the infighting going on between the Club members. “I’m a sorry excuse of a leader. If my baby brother Francis were still alive, he would do a much better job.”

“Come on, I’m sure your daddy and I didn’t raise you this way.” Rex caressed Amber’s face as he tried to cheer her up. “What happened to my cheerful insect duelist? The one who’s so full of spunk and energy?”

“B-But… But what can we do against evil gods and their armies?”

“...” Phuckdis felt sorry for what he said, and had to think of a proper way to “apologize.” “I have an idea. It will be a lot harder than simply killing Weevil, but… Perhaps if we kill the other Earthbound Gods, their influence over Weevil will cease to be.”

“Ooh!” Tristan liked this idea. “I think that guy who nearly killed Joey is the _really_ scary one. If we can get rid of _him…_ ”

“Not bad, Tristan.” Duke chuckled. “I never thought I’d hear you say something smart.”

“Come to think of it, Daddy was always sweet in my future. But then he was abducted by a giant crimson snake monster, and just wasn’t the same ever again.”

“You see, sweetie?” Rex smiled at Amber, stilling her trembling with a hug. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“It’s not going to be easy, though…” William remarked. “We still don’t even know where their hideout is. And we’re talking about killing _seven_ omnipotent gods, never mind their lackeys that we’ll inevitably fight along the way.”

“It’s in the theatre building,” Rex replied. “I know, I was taken there.”

“Be that as it may, we cannot start a full-scale war on the grounds of this university,” Phuckdis proclaimed. “It’s best if we take down each Earthbound God one by one, not only to minimize our own losses, but also to avoid as much damage to Domino City as possible.”

“Then we need to keep an eye out for where each of Domino’s Finest officers goes during their spare time, and corner them with the army one by one.” Amber spoke seriously, unlike her uncertain tone from before. “We have _one_ advantage over them, and that’s sheer numbers. I propose that seven of us get assigned one officer to spy on.”

“That’s an awesome idea!” Apple Magician Girl raised her staff in approval. 

“All in favour say ‘aye!’” Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North’s idea spurred a round of “ayes.”

“Guys… Even after my failings, you still see me as a worthy leader?”

A Chocolate Magician Girl flew up to Amber. “You’re pretty, strong, and smart, and will do anything for your family. What more could we ask for?”

“I… I don’t deserve you guys. “Amber cried tears of gratitude.

Phuckdis patted Amber’s back in apology. “It was wrong of me to ask you to kill your own father, Lady Amber… If you never forgive me, I understand. And we really didn’t lose as many as you think. With an army of our size, there’s bound to be a few who disagree with you.”

“I’m sorry, too,” William admitted. “No matter the circumstances, it was wrong for me to lash out at you like that.”

“My daughter…” Rex hugged Amber with one arm. “We really _will_ save your father this time. This army couldn’t ask for a more capable, talented, and smarter leader.”

“Papa… Thank you for giving me my confidence back.”

“No problem. You’re the one who- Ah…” A strong, painful contraction suddenly hit Rex, ending the light mood in the room as quickly as it began.

“What’s wrong?” Amber started to panic when Rex curled up into a ball.

“Cramping… It… hurts…” Rex cried as his gut felt like it was being run through a vice-grip. He felt like he had an enormous amount of gas that wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard he tried.

Mai looked worried. “I think he’s going into labour!”

“But… He’s still two months early!” Phuckdis exclaimed as the army ran amuck. “Damn that Watda! _He_ did this!”

“If something happens to Lady Amber, I’ll kill him myself!” William proclaimed.

“Panicking about it isn’t going to solve anything! We need to do something!” Joey hoisted Rex onto his back. “I’m taking him to the on-campus doctor!”

“Then… I guess the meeting is over?” Phuckdis laughed halfheartedly.

“Haha…” Joey ran up to the stairs, as the elevators were either under maintenance, or full.

“It’s really mean to be laughing at someone who’s in pain, ya bozo. Ggh…” Rex groaned.

“I’m just thinking of how Tristan and I took turns carrying you after you lost your soul to the Orichalcos.”

“I don’t think this is the time to be reminiscing about dark shit, Joey!” 

“Sorry, sorry… I just thought I’d lighten the mood. I wanted to apologize for that time and help you out, you know?” Joey switched Rex to a princess-style carry and looked him tenderly in the eyes. “That’s what bros are for, Rexy.”

“‘Bros…?’” With just that one word, any remaining hate Rex might have had for this once-bitter rival had dissipated. Looking at how far he had come in his relationships with Espa and Mokuba, it did his heart good to see an even bigger change with Joey. Such heartwarming thoughts were almost enough to numb the pain of early labour. “Aye, I could go for that.”

He continued to smile as Joey presented him before Dr. Balls. “Oh my gods, what happened to him?” Dr. Balls sounded exasperated.

“He got-”

“Never mind, you can explain later!” Two of Dr. Balls’ nurses swiftly brought a stretcher over. “We’ll take a look at him.”

“Rex…” Joey paced around.

Amber called her grandparents. “Grandma, come quick! Something bad happened to Papa!” When she completed that phone call, Amber paced around as well until she noticed Joey’s presence. “...You.”

“Look, Amber, I know what you’re going to say.” Joey ran a nervous hand through his puffy blond hair. “‘You shouldn’t have touched Papa.’ But I couldn’t just leave Rex there, writhing in pain.”

“...Humph. Even I know to give gratitude when and where it is due. Dr. Balls came out of the E.R. thirty minutes later. “Doc, how is he?”

“Come this way.” Dr. Balls led Joey and Amber to Rex’s room. “He experienced Braxton Hicks contractions, not true labour. Although from how he acted, they were unusually intense… It’s strange to me.”

“It’s because he was captured and tortured last week,” Joey remarked, trying not to mention anything about the Earthbound Gods. “And, uh… Yeah, we filed a police report. We still don’t know who did this to him.”

“It’s a miracle, then, that the both of them are going to be okay. However, he will need to remain wheelchair-bound for a few weeks to recuperate from the damage he suffered. I’ll leave you guys be, then, and come back once his parents get here.”

“...” Amber’s eyes darted around the room, and she hoped her grandparents would arrive soon. She fumbled with the light switch, the medical supplies, the random pamphlets on diabetes and other diseases. Anything to distract her from the man that caused both of her parents immense suffering. She even thought about faking sudden illness just to get out of there. Just her luck she was as healthy and happy as a clam.

Joey knew Amber wouldn’t say a word to him, but he didn’t like the silence in the room. “So… uh… Before all the crazy stuff happened, what was your future like?”

“What?” Amber raised an eyebrow. “Where did that come from?”

“I’m just curious… Well… Don’t feel like you have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Joey looked back at Rex. “I can tell in your 16 years that you’ve seen and felt more pain than I have in my 20 years.”

“Trying to make small talk, eh?” To Joey’s surprise, Amber relaxed her tone of voice. “Fine, I could humour you. My life isn’t all blood and guts, you know.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear.”

“Well, to begin… Papa and Daddy were the best duelists in Domino City, and even though they were a lot nicer than they are now, they still liked to cause shenanigans. One time, when they were both done with teaching classes for the day, they went to the bathroom and wrote ‘this shit could sand wood’ on every single roll of toilet paper. At 35 years old!” Amber got more enthralled in her own tale, recalling the pranks her parents pulled off, even as fully-grown adults. “A-And another time, Papa taped a remote-controlled fart machine to the bottom of a seat of a misbehaving kid. And Daddy hid his phone in a closet, then his phone went off in class. His ringtone was the Diarrhea Song! And they never got caught! Of course, I kind of took after that myself, hehe.”

“Some duelists never change. Hahaha! And I just love how happy you are, talking about your parents that way.” Joey couldn’t bring himself to ask who he’d ultimately end up with. “But what about me? Do I… uh…”

“You were a professional duelist who would regularly donate to and volunteer at charities… when you were not spending time with your wife and kids.”

“I had a wife? Is she…”

Amber winked. “You betcha. Your oldest son was exactly like you, too - and one hell of a guitarist to boot. He was somehow even more of a flirt than those other two friends of yours! He would ‘fall madly in love’ with just about any guy who gave him a compliment… that was until one day, he fell in love for real, with a young male dancer. It turns out that that dancer happened to be my little brother.”

“My son ends up with Rex’s son? That’s… weird. But I like it.”

“Well, _I_ for one didn’t like it when I found out they were together, and you can guess why. But…” Amber’s story quickly began to take a dark turn. “But when Daddy went berserk and started killing innocent people, you were the first one to fight back… You were the first one to die. And your son ended up dying trying to protect my brother. I had to admit that I still had disdain for you before all of that… But after seeing what you’ve been doing for Papa lately… I…”

“So you guys are friends now.”

Rex’s abrupt voice made Amber jump. “Papa! You didn’t hear any of that, did you?”

“Oh, I did. Every single word. So I become a professor, even though I’m dumb as a bag of rocks. And… It’s good to know that I’ll carry another precious life one day.”

“W-Well…”

“I know.” Joey got up and patted Amber’s shoulder. “Even after you saved my life, you _still_ hate me. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“...You’re all right, I guess,” Amber managed. 

“I think I’ll settle for ‘all right.” Hehehehe!” Joey ruffled Amber’s hair. 

“Humph. And I’d confess to Mai soon, if I were you. Or who knows, Valon just might end up being the father of her kids instead.”

“Okay, you’ve definitely convinced me!” Joey made his signature face, creeping out Rex a bit. “When I see her next, I’m going to let her know how I feel!”

“Let _who_ know?” Ptera spoke as she opened the door, with Tricera, Spinos, Adelaide, and Camellia behind her.

“Grandma, you shouldn’t be eavesdropping.” 

“I don’t think that seeing my son after he _nearly died_ is considered eavesdropping!” Ptera cried as she hugged Rex. “It’s as I feared. Those monsters are trying to kill my poor baby boy!”

“Mom, I’m gonna be fine. Sheesh.”

“You better be. I would love to give you my famous ginger tea again!”

“Is that the only reason you want to have a grandson?”

“N-No!” 

As Ptera teased her son, Dr. Balls came in. “Mrs. Raptor… I regret to inform you that because the damage to Rex’s body is so extensive, he’ll need to stay in a wheelchair for three weeks. But both he and baby will be fine after that.”

“Thank you so much, Doc.” Ptera took Rex’s laptop out of his bag and shook it lightly. “And I’ll see to it that my son still gets his homework done.”

“I’m already caught up on my assignments so far.” Rex took the laptop out and placed it on the small table in front of him. He scanned his class pages and combed through every assignment, making sure that each was thoroughly filled out.

“What about your PowerPoint presentation for biology class?” Ptera raised an eyebrow. “Did you remember your Works Cited slide for that?”

“Yeah, Mom. I’m 100% positive-” Rex stopped scanning his computer when he noticed that one of his assignments for ancient history class wasn’t turned in yet - or even started. “Uuuuh, _not._ I haven’t even started researching for my essay for Dad’s class.”

“And when is it due?”

“Next week…?” Rex laughed sheepishly.

“ _Ay, dios mío, mi hijo._ ” Ptera facepalmed. “What do you need to research?”

“It’s about ancient Egypt, actually. We need to go to a museum with an ancient Egyptian exhibit, pick an artifact there, and write a 1000-word report about it.”

This assignment’s description reminded Joey of his own visit to the museum, the one in which he learned the true identity of the Millennium Puzzle’s spirit. He thought, too, of Pharaoh Atem and the War of the Dark One - a war to restore the peace of ancient Egypt. Joey spared a prayer for that peace to last, and for the well-being of his rival, Kaiba.

“Joey, you’re spacing out.” Rex looked up from his laptop. 

“Wah…?” Joey snapped back to reality. “Sorry, I was just thinking about stuff.”

“Wait, you’ve hung out with Yugi and Atem, haven’t you? You know a lot about the museum?”

“Yeah. Maybe I can help with your assignment.”

“Really?” Rex pressed the call button on his hospital bed. “Can we go now, then?”

“Right now? Are you crazy? But you’re-”

Dr. Balls came in with a wheelchair. “Actually, you’re okay to leave every so often. Just as long as you remain in this wheelchair when you’re out. And don’t spend more than two hours out there, got it?”

“Let’s gooooo!” Rex had a burst of energy, that was until his giant baby bump caused him to slump forward and nearly fall to the ground. “Fucking OW!”

“Easy man, easy… Here, I got you. Up you get.” Joey helped Rex into the wheelchair.

“Joey…” Ptera couldn’t believe that the man who beat her son - twice - with no relent could be so kind to him. “Are you sure you want to do this? I’m sure you’ve got duels to win… Other poor mother’s sons to pummel…”

“Mrs. Raptor.” Joey looked at Ptera sincerely before he turned to leave the room. “I know I have hurt you and your son. I might not be able to earn your forgiveness, but that’s not going to stop me from wanting to do right by him.”

“Oh…” For the briefest second, Ptera’s expression went blank.

“Mrs. Raptor?

“Ah, you’re too serious sometimes.” Ptera patted Joey on the shoulder. “It’s okay to be a chucklehead like Rex, you know.”

“Hey, I don’t want him to be like me! ...Wait, who you callin’ a chucklehead?”

“Come on, Rex, go do your homework.” Ptera waved off Joey, cuing him to take Rex out of the building.

Rex turned to Amber while the trio made their not-so-far trip. “Say, Amber, you’ve done the essay, haven’t you? Can’t I just copy yours and change the words a little bit?

“How ass-backwards is _that?_ _You_ should be the one helping _me!_ ” Amber stuck her tongue out. “What a role model of a mother you are!”

“Pfft…” Joey stopped right after they entered the museum.

“Oh, put a sock in it.” Amber smacked Joey in the middle of the back.

“Oww, sorry, sorry! It’s just…” Joey stopped laughing all of a sudden. “The last time I saw my mother was right before my sister’s eye operation, about three years ago. And I don’t even remember the last time I saw my father. I just… wish I could have been as close-knit with them as you guys are.”

“Joey?” Rex turned his head around. “You cryin’, man?”

“N-No!” Joey tried to deny it, as he had not cried since his loss to Siegfried at KC Grand Prix. 

“Um…” Not knowing what else to do, Amber reluctantly patted Joey on the back. “Well, uh… For what it’s worth, you’ve got your sister, and us. And your dueling skills!”

“ _Especially_ the dueling skills,” Rex noted with a groan as they moved to a much longer corridor. “I swear, you must have dueled every schmuck in Domino City.”

“Yeah… I just wish I could have dueled Atem one more time.” Joey never thought he would have uttered the name of the pharaoh again. He never would have thought the memories of his quest to truly earn Red-Eyes Black Dragon back would re-enter his mind, and his desire to defeat Atem in order to attain that goal. Entering the ancient Egyptian exhibit in which he learned of the pharaoh’s true identity brought even more nostalgia. “That reminds me. Rex, did you know that Duel Monsters originated from ancient Egypt?”

“I kind of figured it out during my duel with Bandit King Bakura.” Rex didn’t want to think of that fateful, harrowing duel - but the stone tablet that stood before him had other plans. “It’s… It’s that giant rock!”

Joey remembered the stone tablet too. Three monsters that vaguely resembled Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Creepy Coney, and Earthbound God Uru adorned it. “Brings back memories.”

“What kind of memories?” Amber wanted to know.

“Oh, I must have never told you in the future, then,” Rex began. “When your father and I time travelled, we had to duel this really creepy guy named Bakura. That was when we first learned that we had ancient Egyptian selves, and of Weeves’ ability to transform into an all-powerful god. We lost our souls four the fourth time… that was until Kaiba brought us back with _his_ amazing dueling skills.”

“I would certainly have liked to meet him.” Amber looked upon the stone tablet. “He’s my cousin once-removed, you know.”

“Kaiba…” Rex reached out a hand for the glass protecting the stone tablet. “I really wish I could have dueled you again.”

No sooner had Rex’s fingertips touched the glass when he heard a voice speak in his head. _Hu…_

_Rabbit stew…_

_You guys have to save Weevil from himself..._

“Bakura… Kaiba… Atem… Is that you?” 

“Papa, what is it?”

“You mean… You guys didn’t hear those voices just now?”

“I didn’t hear nothin’,” spoke Joey. “Could be that you’re hallucinating because of the pregnancy.”

“Maybe… At any rate, I know what I’m going to do my essay on. In fact, I already know a lot about this artifact! The essay is going to be a piece of cake!”

“Oh!” Amber noticed another tablet right next to it, one of a rough figure with dragon wings and a tail. “Papa, this is the one I did my report on.”

“Yeah? How come?”

“Because it reminds me a lot of a legend from my future. Our chief god is called the God-Shattering Star. He is said to be of ancient Egyptian origin and has purged the world of evil once. We also worship other dragon gods, such as Hermos, Critias, and Timaeus.”

“That sounds familiar…” Rex recalled the final fight against Zorc, and it quickly registered who this god was. “It must be Kaiba! He can transform into the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!”

“Are you certain? I didn’t know he was a shifter!”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Rex made finger guns at Amber.

“Why, yes,” Joey quipped. 

“Ah, shaddup. I think I’ve seen enough giant rocks for today. Take me out of here so I can get on that essay, before Mom and Dr. Balls get mad at me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” 

With that, the trio left the museum - and for Rex, he had more questions than answers.


End file.
